


Chess and Checkers

by GusKinney



Category: Black Butler, Queer As Folk - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-09
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-25 15:01:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 56,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6199603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GusKinney/pseuds/GusKinney





	1. Chapter 1

Gus pov  
It's so nice. Gripping the leather strap of my shoulder bag in-between my teeth, I peeled off my blazer, before returning the bag to my shoulder and draping the heavy wool garment over my arm. A pipe had burst in one of the main hallways, so the headmaster decided it was best that we go home. It was a good thing too, because everyone was getting a bit stir crazy; especially since the summer holiday was coming up soon, and a lot of people had taken on the mindset of not needing to do anymore work. When that happened nothing got done other than everyone goofing off and throwing things at each other, so the pipe bursting was really a blessing; it was also one of the best birthday presents I could receive.  
A slight breeze kicked up as I made my way down the street. Everything was unusually quiet, I mean someone always seemed to be mowing their lawn, or walking their dog, but now there was absolutely nothing; it was pretty eerie when combined with the fact that I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. Every few steps, I found myself looking around, without really realizing it. Stop being so paranoid you twit, nothing ever happens around here.  
As if the universe was proving a point, a lawnmower started up in the distance, followed closely by a small high-pitched yapping sound. Taking a deep breath to calm my somewhat shaky nerves, I continued on, telling myself I was just being paranoid.  
Tires screeched on the asphalt, filling the air with the scent of burning rubber, as a large black van narrowly rounded the corner of my street. The tires left skid marks up on the curb, while the actual van had heavily tinted windows and lacked license plates, reminding me of one for a pedophile. Some poor sod just got robbed.  
Continuing on down the street, I pondered who was going to come home to an empty house. This was probably the most interesting thing to happen around here since some kid down the street fell out of a tree and broke his arm a couple years ago.  
The street seemed a lot longer than normal, as I looked around to try to figure out who got robbed. So far there hadn't been any visible signs of a break in, so they must've picked the lock or something.  
Heading up the cement steps, I got a sudden craving for something sweet; I wonder if mum got my cake yet With my luck, they probably hadn't, and had planned on getting it later. Sighing softly, I approached my front door. After placing my hand on the warm, metal knob the door swung back, probably because someone hadn't closed it back all the way; which happened a lot more than you would think.  
I slammed the door shut with excessive force, trying to announce my presence before talking to anyone, and expressing my annoyance about the front door being ajar. "I'm home!"  
Glancing around the corner into the kitchen, I saw nothing out of place, and everything was quiet. Where is everyone? Knowing how much my parents hated it when I left my school things on the table, I trekked up stairs just to put my bag and blazer in my room, before roaming I knew they both had taken the day off, and both their cars were here, so unless they were out taking a walk or something my parents should have been here.  
Sighing softly, I rummaged through the pantry, trying to find something to satisfy my sweet tooth. Much to my dismay, I concluded that I must have eaten all the cookies during my last pantry raid, so there wasn't anything to hold my attention for long.  
Grabbing some ice from the freezer, I nursed a glass of water, contemplating what to do with my time alone. There wasn't really much to do. I had finished what little homework I had in study hall, and I had no intention of studying for finals until at least next week. A small smile worked its way onto my face as I imagined my mum saying, why don't you go read a book. She was always trying to get me to read for no reason.  
Just as I placed the empty glass in the sink the phone started to ring. Glancing behind me at its place on the wall, I found it wasn't there. That's strange.  
Walking around in a small circle, I tried to pinpoint the source of the sound. The ringing gradually grew louder as I headed towards the parlor. It stopped just as I placed my hand on the brass doorknob. A small shiver ran down my spine, as if something was telling me not to go in there. Shaking my head slightly, I got a firm grasp on the knob and pushed the door open; you're just being paranoid again.  
The phone started ringing again as I opened the door to the parlor. Words couldn't describe all the rampant emotions running through my head as I took in the gory scene before me. Blood stained the walls, and seeped into the carpet that covered the floor, all leading back to one source. Tears flowed down the sides of my face at the sight of a bloody, partial hand print on the back of the phone, and the sight of my mother laying on the floor nearby, still reaching for it.  
My knees gave out, and my blood ran cold. There were so many questions I had, but none of them could become coherent long enough for me to even address the fact that they even existed. Not wanting to see anymore, I somehow managed to get out into the hallway, and close the door back.  
Trembling, I desperately tried to focus on what needed to be done, but there wasn't anything I could think of. My mind was blank, except for one question that I would probably never get the answer to: why would someone do this?


	2. Chapter 2

As I pored over the new case file, memories from my past come flooding back, in a rushing torrent. Despite how much I tried to forget, they kept getting stirred up, emotionally draining and tormenting me, even during what little sleep I did get. Sighing softly I tossed aside the pictures of the recently acquired corpse and ran a hand through my dark brown hair.  
"I told you I didn't do it!" Warm tears roll down the sides of my face, as I'm forced to look at pictures of the crime scene, and study the cleaned up pictures of my parents bodies. It hadn't really sunk in until I was standing in the cold morgue staring down at their marred faces. They really are gone.  
My knees almost gave out, and I had to be helped from the room before I did collapse. All I wanted to do was go to my uncle's house and try to forget the whole thing, but it wasn't going to happen so long as they were convinced I did it. None of my incompetent neighbors had even taken notice of the van, or really heard or noticed anything suspicious. I mean, who doesn't think a black van with no license plates out in the suburbs is completely normal!?  
"The thing is kid, nothing you're saying is holding up. There were no fingerprints other than yours, and I find it all too convenient that nobody on your street recalls seeing this 'black van'. Might I ask why you were out of school a good four hours early?"  
Wiping my face on the sleeve of my shirt, I suppressed a sigh, "I already told you, a pipe burst and we got sent home early."  
"Didn't you think to phone your parents to let you know you would be home early, after all it is quite a walk from your school?"  
Frustrated, I ran a hand through my dark brown hair, not wanting to answer any more questions. I made a point not to look down at the stainless steel table, and reply, "I just wanted to surprise them I guess; I figured we could go get lunch or something. Besides, I didn't have any change for a pay phone."  
The slightly overweight police officer stood, and placed both his hands on the table in front of me, leaning forward so his face was inches away from mine. I refused to look into his dark blue eyes, they made me feel guilty. For what, I didn't really know, but it felt like they were staring into the depths of my soul. "Do you consider yourself religious?"  
"No, but as far as I see it, this isn't really any of your business."  
"If you really didn't do it, then you should have nothing to hide." I glanced up to find him arching one of his eyebrows, before he continued, "What makes you say that?"  
"I haven't been to church a day in my life; I'm not even sure there's a Bible in my house. My parents taught me good morals themselves; they don't need a 'holy' book to do it for them." I suddenly felt drained and just wanted to sleep. I rubbed my eyes with the heel of my hands, "How much longer, eh? I want to call my Uncle before he gets out of work."  
"Why's that?"  
"Due to certain personal choices he makes, I'd rather have him know I'll be at his place before he makes plans."  
"One more question boy," he leaned in closer, further trespassing upon my personal space. "Do you believe in the Devil?"  
Sighing, I pushed away from the table, and mocked his stance, "Like I said, I'm not religious; now I'd like to make my phone call."  
Opening my eyes again, returned the chair to all four legs, and drained the last of my coffee. That last question had always struck me as odd, until I checked back with some of the case notes. Crossing over to the large filing cabinet that sat in the corner of my office, I rummaged through the hundreds of manila envelopes marked 'unsolved'. Where are you hiding?  
After rummaging through countless envelopes, I finally found what I was looking for and placed myself back at my desk. As I unwound the red thread that sealed the contents into the large envelope, I braced myself for more unwanted, stirred up memories as I spilled an array of photos and case notes from one of them. After briefly closing my eyes, I did my best to not look at their faces; forever marred by the blade of some criminal.  
Restricting the pictures to a stack in the far corner of my oversized desk, I focused on the lopsided handwriting of my mentor. The number '6' just kept repeating itself throughout my mind as I skimmed through dozens of papers. There are many cuts each roughly 2 cm deep, all varying in direction, indicating multiple perpetrators or a single ambidextrous one. All arranged in groups of six. Burn marks in-between the shoulders form a pentagram with the number '666' inscribed beneath it. Another unusual marking in an upside down cross on each wrist. There is no physical evidence of a struggle indicating that perhaps some sort of sedative was used.  
Cause of death is most likely blood loss, mixed with stab wounds directly to both lungs and the heart.  
Cross referencing the old notes with the new pictures of our latest victim, it wasn't very hard to spot similarities in the two. A copycat maybe?  
A knock on the door dragged me away from my thoughts, and I rubbed my eyes again. "What?"  
One of the newer recruits entered with a stack of papers that I had asked for a couple days ago. "S- Sorry it took so long Detective, I had a hard time getting clearance for some of this stuff."  
I motioned for him to put the papers on my desk, and went to refill my cup. Should've taken that nap when I had the chance The rookie stood there awkwardly for several minutes, waiting for me to say something. Taking a long, slow sip of the hot liquid I studied him as he stood there. He slightly bit his bottom lip, a nervous habit probably, and stared down at the floor. He constantly shifted his weight back and forth between his two legs, and took a couple deep breaths, like he was going to say something, but lost nerve before opening his mouth. "What's on your mind kid?"  
He glanced up, startled. His dark grey eyes clouded over, slightly from doubt, "I just wanted to congratulate you on your last case; I mean you've probably heard this from everyone else already, but still nice job."  
Glancing at the nametag that read 'Abaroa', I made a mental note to get him to do more grunt work for me, it might drag him out of his bubble of uncertainty. He turned sharply, and left, only to pause briefly when I casually replied, "Thanks for the papers."  
He nodded vigorously, "Anytime sir!" The door quickly closed back as he retreated back out into the floor, leaving me with my thoughts again.  
I began searching through all my cluttered desk drawers, until I managed to find some blank, lines paper and a black pen. It was a lot easier to concentrate on things when they were drawn out before me instead of floating around in my head. They were easier to remember and refer back too, instead of trying to chase down the smallest of thoughts and observations when I myself hadn't even realized they were relevant to anything.  
Just as I placed myself in my spinning desk chair, the printer in the corner of the room spit out several pieces of paper, that weren't sent there by my own devices. Sighing, I rose from the chair, to retrieve the papers, just as the door to my office opened. Our somewhat ditzy secretary, Martha, tried to sneak in, then jumped slightly when she saw my standing in the corner. She had a large, dopy smile plastered across her face as she began a long winded explanation of why she was in here. "Gus, I didn't see you there! I hope you don't mind, the printer in the break room is out of ink and I, for the life of me, can't find out where the replacement cartridges are. I'm only using yours because I figured you wouldn't be here. Didn't you get the next couple days off?"  
I nodded slightly, as I handed her the papers, "I got assigned to a new case and figured some time off could wait."

She tipped her head slightly to one side, her wavy blonde hair spilling over her right shoulder. "You look like hell though! You should really get some sleep, your health is important too y'know; just because your some big hot shot now, doesn't mean you need to sacrifice sleep and time off." She winked in a friendly manor, before leaving, making an active effort to close the door back without making a sound.  
Landing heavily back in the spinning chair, I stared at the ominous, empty paper before me. One thing that bothers me, everybody kept praising me for something they themselves could learn to do: read people. They all had little quirks, and it was simply a matter of studying personality traits and reactions to try to piece together their relevance to certain crimes. It's not rocket science; it's simply observation and patience. There was a running joke that I was the new 'Sherlock Holmes' because I noticed things nobody else would think of. It wasn't difficult, if you just paid attention to your surroundings; in this business you couldn't afford to overlook anything. Knowing human nature helped a lot too; although I could chalk that up to a lot of Ethics classes and reading a book on psychology.  
In a feeble attempt to fend of rising irritation, I opened the top drawer of my desk and pulled out a bag of gummy bears; sugar never failed to distract me from undesired emotions.  
Thoughtfully chewing on a green gummy bear, I returned to the task at hand. Alright Gus, what can you deduce?  
From a religious stand point six tends to be associated with the devil. Maybe we are dealing with new cult. That or some person has suffered religious abuse, and is, in turn, rebelling against said abuser; as an act of defiance, said person is probably going against everything that has brought them pain and is trying to compensate by doing so to other people. If this is the same person as before they are at least what 50? Assuming the suspect profile from before is accurate.  
Let's briefly say there is a cult though, then that would mean pinpointing a lot of factors such as leaders, targets, even consistent traits that are shared amongst all members of the group which could take time given the minimal details of what to be looking for I found myself doodling upside down crosses in the margins of the paper, and staring despondently down at the now empty bag of gummy bears. My train of thought had trailed off, leaving me feeling more exhausted than I had when I was knocking back pots of coffee in an hour.  
It was almost six, and my stomach was growling loudly, demanding something other than coffee and candy. I sighed softly in my quiet office. The chair creaked as I rested my weight on the back and stared at the gray ceiling. I guess going home and getting a quick bite won't kill me I closed my eyes briefly, taking into consideration what the secretary had said. A nap won't kill me either, it beats having to drink coffee all the time.  
I actually took the time to make my desk look somewhat presentable by stuffing some of the now un-needed papers into the half full bottom drawer of my desk, before neatly stacking everything else and placing it on the corner of the large surface.  
Before grabbing my dark blue trench coat off the back of the chair, I stretched out my back and glanced around the cluttered office. I really need to clean this place up Nobody paid me any mind as I crossed through the common room, and I was almost out to the front bullpen when Martha stopped me, "Gus, wait!" Sighing irritably, I turned sharply to face her, "I didn't want to bother you again, otherwise I would have given this to you earlier," She pressed a thick envelope into my hand, "See ya later okay?" She smiled, and her bright green eyes lit up, before she rushed back to her desk to answer the phone.  
A burst of cold air rushed in to meet me as I stepped out onto the sidewalk, taking a closer look at the envelope as I headed towards a nearby pub. The envelope itself was made out of a thick, expensive feeling paper, and was sealed with red wax that had some sort of crest embedded into it. I stuffed it into one of my pockets, not really thinking anything of it, it's probably just one of those pre-prepared letters that officials just sign and send out.


	3. Chapter 3

A thick fog had drifted in from the ocean, and cloaked most of London. There was a surprising lack of people out on the streets as well, but that was probably due to an impending rain storm. That said, it still didn't make things less eerie.  
Why the queen wanted an audience with me was beyond my comprehension, I mean, I hadn't done anything out of the ordinary lately. If excelling at my job was enough to earn royal recognition, then about half the people I know would qualify. I hope she doesn't try to induct me into her guard or something I don't think I'd be able to come up with a way to politely decline.  
A carriage pulled by a black horse came ambling by at a brisk pace, its occupants probably running late for some sort of meeting. Its form soon disappeared into the mist, the wooden tires rattling along the uneven cobblestone road. It's nice knowing I'm not the only one getting dragged out on a day like this.  
I stretched out my shoulder before adjusting the collar of my coat. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, making me feel tense. My already quiet surroundings seemed to grow muted as I glanced around, half expecting to see some shadow lurking just out of sight. Rationality took over, after I had seen nothing, chalking it up to my sometimes rampant imagination. Abaroa seriously needs to stop with all his scary stories; they're going to start fraying my nerves.  
"Halt, what brings you here?"  
After crashing directly into a pair of spears, I took a step back, and suppressed a sigh. The two guards standing in front of the gate eye me wearily, like they were just going through the motions instead of actually caring about my presence here. "The queen requested an audience with me." I put particular emphasis on requested just because I didn't have the option of not going. Everyone was threatening to drag me down here by my earlobe if I didn't show up.  
One of them was obviously skeptical of my explanation, so to prove myself I pulled out the thick piece of paper from my pocket and showed it to him. I guess it's a good thing I barely clean out my pockets. "If you don't mind, I would prefer to not be late."  
They returned to their positions on either side of the gate, allowing me to proceed up the obnoxiously long driveway. Gravel shifted beneath my feet with each step, and offered some distracting from my rising claustrophobia. I don't know whether or not my imagination was acting up again, but the mist seemed to grow thicker and denser. Stop being so paranoid, it is just your imagination.  
The large shadow that loomed ahead of me brought me some piece of mind, but I grew slightly nervous too. Just what does the queen of England want with me anyway?  
The black carriage form earlier was parked out front, but I didn't have any time to really question its presence as the large wooden door opened to reveal one of the many servants probably employed here. I stepped into the large foyer, glancing around at all the intricate architecture while the door creaked closed with a loud bang that echoed around the cavernous room. A small, fake smile placed itself upon the girl's face as she directed me through the castle. It struck me a bit odd that she didn't even bother to ask what I was here for, but I suppose it was easy to figure out who I was if I wasn't one of the normal aristocrats that were bound to come in and out of this place on a regular basis.  
The seemingly endless combination of hallways was making it hard for me to get my bearings. Every time I thought I had an idea as to where we were going, I was led in opposite direction. This place is confusing, I'd get lost for hours if I was left to my own devices.  
The young girl stopped in front of an ornately decorated door and told me to wait out here while she entered the long, brightly lit room. Running a hand through my dark brown hair, I contemplated the odds of her even meeting with me right away. With my luck I'll be put off in some waiting room for a few hours.  
I started as the door suddenly opened behind me, turning sharply, I was met with the same fake smile of the servant girl, "The queen will see you now."  
I nodded curtly and brushed past her, wanting to get this whole ordeal over with sooner rather than later. Blinking a couple times in the sudden bright light, I tried to get a feel for my surroundings as I approached the gold, red upholstered throne. An entire wall of the throne room was made out of glass, letting in what little natural light there was, and giving it the feel that we were up a lot higher up than we actually were.  
A small boy with dark blue hair and an eye patch eyed me, seeming bored and completely uninterested. The butler clad in black that stood next to him, nudged the boy ever so slightly, as if trying to attempt to get him to at least pretend to be interested. It didn't really do anything though, other than causing the boy to shift his weight and stand up a bit straighter. The butler seemed slightly annoyed with the lack of motivation from his apparent master, or he was just babysitting the young aristocrat. I was just trying to figure out if he was just a relative to the queen or just visiting. Upon comparing the two, it was most likely the latter since they shared no similar traits.  
Bowing, I forced out somewhat polite sounding, "Hello, your majesty."  
A slightly amused smile worked its way onto her aged face as I straightened up. "It's a pleasure to finally be meeting you in person, after hearing all you've done to serve your country."  
Don't tell me we are just going to make small talk. "The pleasure is all mine."  
"Please, come forth." I wasn't about to argue with her, so I followed he wish, wondering what she had in mine. Once at the bottom of the marble steps in front of her throne, the queen stood, producing a thin sword from a nearby sheath. Oh no, don't tell me "Now then, get down on one knee." Grudgingly, I did as she asked, damn, I'm never going to hear the end of this one.  
"Gus Kinney I dove thee one of my honorary knights, for demonstrating dedication and bravery when it comes to the safety of our country." She paused briefly, touching the shoulder to each one of my shoulders, "you may rise."  
Forcing a small smile, I replied, "this is a great honor, and I', at a loss of words." Especially since I've just been dragged down even further in that hole of 'perfection' and 'excellence'.  
She folded herself back into her throne as I stood. Her bright green eyes shone with some cross between amusement and excitement, "Now then let's get down to business." She motioned for the boy who was standing off to the side to join us. "This," she pointed to the boy, "is Earl Ciel Phantomhive. It has come to my attention that recently there have been some un ordinary murders occurring and I would much like to leave this task in the hands of you two. Ciel is my watchdog and this would be his first time dealing with the occult."  
She leaned forward slightly, not seeming to notice the irritation that flashed in the young earl's large, child-like blue eyes. "It makes no difference to me whether or not who I work with, I'd be more than happy to oblige with your wishes."  
The queen didn't bother to wait for this 'Ciel' to respond, before clapping her hands together and smiling, "excellent, well you two know what you are to be doing so, off with you." She smiled, and tipped her head slightly to one side, gee she's awfully pushy behind that chipper exterior.  
Turning slowly, I strode out the long room, followed by Ciel and his butler. We exited the room, and the pair soon took the lead, not that I'd mind since I probably would have gotten lost.  
Once we were out of earshot the young boy quickly got down to the point, and began explaining things is a somewhat patronizing tone. "I'm only doing this because the queen wants me to, otherwise I wouldn't even waste my time bothering with you."  
It was nice change, not seeing things sugar coated even if it was from a child. "Fine by me, it doesn't really matter to me anyway. I'll do things my way, and you do things your way."  
"Good, it seems you understand what I'm getting at, however, from what I've gathered you were assigned to this case a few days ago. I find it best that we compare notes with what we have deduced so far."  
Suppressing a sigh, I shrugged, "whatever floats your boat kid." It hasn't even been half an hour and this kid is already getting on my nerves, he needs a good smack, then maybe he'll get off his high horse.

I pushed open the door to my apartment, and gathered up stacks of paper as I moves around, attempting to make the place at least halfway presentable. Gesturing towards the chairs that were arranged around the fireplace, I headed towards my room to stash the large stack of papers. "Abaroa, put a kettle on will 'ya?!"  
A chair scraped across the wooden floor in the room next door, followed by the door opening. I tossed my coat onto the bed, and ran a hand through my hair a couple times before heading back to the parlor. "Can't you do it yourself or are you really- Why did you tell me you were bringing guests back?! I would have cleaned this place up a bit!"  
Sighing as I rummaged through the stacks of paper that are strewn about the room, I replied, "Just do as you are told."  
Not one to argue with people, Abaroa retreated to the kitchen to prepare tea. "Where did I put my notes at?!"  
"There were on the coffee table where you left them." Staring at the now empty, coffee table, I let out an irritated huff and went back to my room to rummage through all the paper I had already carried in there. I need to invest in a file cabinet.  
Sometime later I returned to the room with a small stack of handwritten notes. I handed them to the young boy and settled myself into the adjacent chair. He stared distastefully down at the unorganized sheets of paper, and commented unnecessarily, "Your handwriting leave a lot to be desired."  
"Kid, you should be happy I managed to find them, okay. I don't see you doing any better."  
Irritation flashed through his blue eyes, and he shifted slightly, "I do have a name."  
"So do I, everyone does, but just because you have one doesn't mean you deserve it." There was a sigh as Abaroa placed the tea kettle on the table in front of us, "Take him for example, I don't know his first name nor do I care, in my opinion he doesn't need one."  
"Will you at least show some respect."  
"No, why should I?" Abaroa sighed, and slowly crept out the room, knowing what was coming next. "I don't care who you are, what your title is or how much money you have. The only thing that matters is your ability to draw conclusions from information presented to you, and if you think otherwise, then we really will have issues. I'm going to call you kid, and you can call me whatever appeases you."  
The butler at Ciel's side seemed to grow slightly amused with his master's irritation, but didn't say anything, and just read over his shoulder. The room seemed oddly quiet, aside from the rustling of the papers, and Abaroa doing whatever it was that he was doing; I tended to not pay him any mind unless I needed something or was attempting to teach him something.  
While the kid tried to decode my 'sloppy' handwriting, I headed into the kitchen and retrieved a bag of gummy bears from one of the cabinets. If I was going to be sitting around and be criticized the least that could happen was my sweet tooth being satisfied.  
Settling myself back in my chair, it seemed like Ciel was pointing something out to his butler, who seemed to be contemplating something. After some time he nodded slightly, but didn't say anything. They both glanced up in unison, as the ancient chair creaked slightly, and I crammed a handful of gummy bears into my mouth. "What? You lot act like you've never seen a grown man eating gummy bears before."  
Ciel sighed softly, and closed his eyes briefly, "That's not what this is about."  
"You mean my page long rambles and baseless theories are actually worth something?"  
I leaned forward slightly, and Ciel settled into the back of the chair slightly as if settling in to tell some sort of story. A smug smile worked its way onto his face as he shrugged slightly, "I'm not sure I understand what you are getting at."  
Suppressing a sigh, I arched one of my eyebrows, trying to figure out what this kid was getting at. "Funny thing is that it doesn't seem like that to me.  
Ciel tipped his head slightly to one side, the smirk growing, "I don't know what this seems like to you, but I assure you it has nothing to do with these worthless rambling spawned by the likes of you. If you intend to turn this whole thing into some sort of game, then I'd be happy to oblige. After all, children are quite greedy when it comes to games; they never get enough of them."  
A silence fell across the room as I slowly leaned forward and rested my chin on my hand. Ciel crossed his legs and the slime slowly faded; eventually we were just sitting there studying each other, although the only person who seemed to be gaining anything was me and the butler. While it was blatantly obvious that the child was lying, he hadn't even denied things while staying on topic. He was twisting things around so he thought he was gaining some sort of advantage; meaning he was probably quite manipulative. I better fight him with everything, maybe I'll manage to get a rise out of him.  
That aside, the butler beside him seemed to be studying everything about me. It was obvious he was trying to gather information, and there was no doubt his very young master would run a background check on me at some point in the near future. It didn't bother me in even the slightest, let him do all the digging he wanted it wouldn't change our present situation. We were stuck with each other.  
I met the steady gaze of his red-brown eyes for several moments, until finally asking, "What's your name, butler?"  
Blatantly ignoring the frustration that flashed through Ciel's blue eyes, I kept my focus on the butler. Seems like he doesn't like being ignored, that's good to know. "Sebastian Michaelis."  
His eyes narrowed slightly as I leaned back and thoughtfully chewed on a gummy bear. "Good to know, Sebastian, I have faith in your skills."  
A fake smile worked its way onto the butler's face as Ciel commented, "I wouldn't expect anything less from one of my servants."  
The butler then added, "A butler that can't do that much for his master isn't worth his salt."  
He probably likes surrounding himself with skilled people to hide his inferiority complex. He'd probably crack under the pressure if left to his own devices for a couple days. "Still, skill doesn't measure the value of a person, that's based on a lot of other factors too. Not that I would expect you to understand, even with life experience, that doesn't come without really learning about human nature."  
The butler seems a bit shocked at my response, while Ciel just seemed to grow further irritated with my presence, that or he knew I was seeing right through him. Either way, this was bound to be an interesting case.  
I ate a couple more gummy bears as we continued to size each other up, trying to figure out who would break first. Abaroa chose now to interrupt, "Gus, chief says he wants to talk to you about something."  
I shrugged slightly, leaning back into my chair, "it's my day off, whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow."  
"He's on the phone now."  
Sighing, I stood, and commented as I headed towards the hallway, "Do some babysitting for me, little kids shouldn't be left on their own for too long."  
Once in the hall, I positioned myself so I could keep an eye on my 'guests'. "What?"  
"Don't give me that attitude, I want to know what's going on with you case, I just got word that it's no longer under our jurisdiction."  
"I don't know, I'm working on it right now though, so I guess it's just for you guys."  
I heard him let out a long sigh on the other end, "Now what does that mean."  
"The queen paired me up with some kid, told me to work with him because she feels we could help each other. I wasn't in any place to deny her request."  
There was a long silence on the other end, before the line eventually went dead. Shrugging slightly, I headed back into the parlor and settled myself back into the chair. "Abaroa, go see what the chief is all mad about."  
He threw a glance out the window, then whined, "It's raining out though; I'll get sick!"  
"So, get an umbrella."  
"I don't have one, and neither do you."  
"Oh well, suck it up."  
I stuffed a bunch more gummy bears into my mouth, and met his pleading gray eyes with my brown ones, this kid's gotta get a back bone.  
After a while he sighed and went to grab his coat off the coat rack near the door. "Pick me up some more gummy bears while you're at it."  
"Alright "  
The pair sitting across from me eyes me as if I was being some sort of slave driver, although from what I'm hearing that kid probably demands a lot more than I do. "It all makes logical sense if you know about human nature. Now back to the task at hand "


	4. Chapter 4

There's a lot more blood this that there was last time; there's no way all of this is from one body. "Turn that other lamp on, will 'ya?"  
Footsteps echoed off the bloodstained wooden floor as Abaroa went to turn on the other lamp near the door. At this point the only thing he was really good for was grunt work, like taking notes and pictures. I didn't really trust him with investigating the crime scene, especially since he still didn't have a clue as to what we were specifically looking for. The only thing he recognized right away was the pentagram, but even then that didn't mean this was the same person. For all I knew there was already a copycat out there. As far as I was concerned, I considered this a continuation of a decade old unsolved murder.  
The latest victim had been a young woman, twenty at oldest. There is the same cut pattern and burs marks from before, but there were also some partially healed bruises that couldn't have been obtained from the killer. Since they were located around her wrists, shoulder, and fainter ones around the base of her neck that could fall into shape of a hand, it was safe to say she was being abused by somebody. It was just too soon to tell though, since she had yet to be identified. The only reason we even found here was because the neighbors were complaining about some 'shifty looking characters' hanging out near the street for about an hour. Normally in this part of town I wouldn't consider this odd, after all just because it was well past ten; it didn't mean the urchins would stop looking for things to steal.  
Although, the way the said it implied that they were seeing something they were used to seeing out in the alley way. Given that they were probably higher up in age, probably eighteen to about thirty. It was just too bad none of the neighbors could give an accurate description of any of the three people standing out there. One of them said they were all wearing black trench coats, but that wasn't much help; especially since I knew several people who also own black trench coats.  
There was something different about this pentagram, it seemed to be made up of smaller markings, rather than solid lines; it was just a pain trying to figure out what the small scribbles were supposed to mean.  
Pulling a pair of gloves out of my back pocket, I braced myself against the faded yellow wallpaper that covered the wall, since a trail of blood prevented me from getting and closer. Upon closer inspection, I found that there were six rows of the same phrase over and over again, in very tiny script; it was as if someone had taken a very fine tipped paintbrush and used that to write instead of their fingers, like before. After reading off the letters to Abaroa to copy down, I was pretty sure they were even written in English. There's no was someone is doing this in under an hour.  
I stepped away from the wall and went back to looking around the small room. The latch on the door hadn't been broken, nor did it seem to have been tampered with, implying that the perpetrator had been let in. There also didn't seem to be any signs of a struggle inside. However, there had been two teacups on one of the table, and one of them was empty, so the tea had probably included some sort of sedative or poison. "Well what was I dragged all the way out here for? I was about to retire for the evening."  
I rolled my eyes, and sighed internally at the small child's complaints, it was what, ten? I've met younger kids that refused to go to bed until at least midnight. Signing papers all day and ordering people around all day can't be that tiring.  
Figuring I didn't hear, or wasn't paying attention, Abaroa called out, "Gus, Ciel is here!"  
"I know you dolt," I turned sharply to find Abaroa standing practically behind me. I furrowed my brow and stared him down for a couple seconds, while stuffing my gloves back into my pocket. "Start taking some pictures, so I have something to look at after the station sends someone over to clean up everything. Call the coroner after."  
"Yes, Gus." Abaroa adjusted the camera strap around his neck and set out to document the crime scene, leaving me to deal with the child and his keeper.  
I took a particularly long time making my way outside, pretending to notice some things I hadn't before. Once standing out in the alley, I was met with Ciel's apathetic glare. He was dressed in less flashy street clothes, and had his arms wrapped around himself as if he was trying to fend off the cold. Doesn't this kid have any other expressions; or does he save them for special occasions?  
Since he was so inclined to give me attitude and act like the child he was, I decided to address his keeper instead, hoping I could get a rise out of him. "We found a body with probably the same cause of death as the others. There's way too much blood for it all to be from one body, so it's either medical blood or from another body. It's probably the first one since nobody reported seeing anything large being removed from the house."  
I glanced at Ciel as he opened his mouth, then turned to face him, hoping he had something intelligent to contribute. "Have you talked to the witnesses?"  
Rolling my eyes, I went back to talking to Sebastian, and directed the answer to him. "We did, and they had nothing significant to contribute other than there were three or four people standing near the street and they didn't look very old or very young."  
Ciel seemed to grow even frustrated with me and glared at me with his one blue eye. "Then what do you need me here for?! You seem to have everything under control yourself."  
"I might, but Abaroa doesn't know much about what he's doing, or what's going. Since you have experience in dealing with such things I figure you would have something productive to contribute. I'd also like to ask if the following means anything to you " I rummaged through my large pockets before demanding, "Abaroa, bring me my notebook!"  
I heard a barely audible sigh, followed by some rustling paper. Abaroa's shadow was cast out into the alley as he came up behind me and placed the small notebook in my waiting hand. "Thank you."  
"Mhm," I could tell he rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything about it and let him go back to taking pictures. A flash went off near the door, just as I found the page I was looking for. I marked the spot with my index finger and asked, "do you know what this means?"  
Sebastian briefly glanced at the page, and chuckled, before asking, "Don't you know Latin?"  
He seemed slightly amused at my un-amused glare. The way he said it made it seem like everyone just casually happens to speak Latin, and I was the only one who lacked this ability. "Sorry, I went to public school."  
"Non coibis, nosti non occidesm non mechaberis; thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not commit adultery."  
Taking the notebook back, I quickly scribbled down the translation, thinking out loud, "This probably means the victim had a personal relationship with one of the killers, or had been followed around for some time."  
Sebastian nodded in agreement, while Ciel briefly peered into the house. Ciel tipped his head ever so slightly to one side, then leaned against the brick wall next to me and stared down at the uneven cobblestones. Sebastian looked inside over the top of my head, and seemed to be studying something. The only thing you could really get a clear visual was the giant pentagram on the wall, but I really didn't want to but too much into it. Different groups probably use different marks.  
As if the two were continuing some mental conversation out loud, Sebastian said, "There is the possibility of that, but I would rule it out for now; this isn't something you would typically see with them, unless "

The pair exchanged knowing glances, making me curious about what they were being so secretive about in the first place. Sure, information about cults tended to be kept on a need to know basis, but this didn't even seem like that. "Do you think he would know anything?" Ciel asked, while glanced over at Sebastian.  
"He might, he is quite skilled when it comes to these things, I'll ask him to come pick up the body later." Sebastian turned to me and added, "That is, if you don't have another coroner you would prefer."  
I shrugged slightly, "I don't matter to me so long as he isn't straight out of me school; those bastards couldn't cut a straight line if you drew one and gave them a ruler. 'Ya hear that Abaroa?"  
"Yes Gus, I'm not calling the coroner." A rock or something of that nature came clattering off the roof and onto the ground nearby. I figured it was just a rat or something, so didn't pay it any mind. Sebastian seemed to grow slightly irritated, and Ciel headed towards the street, and let out an irritated huff. "Get rid of it in a timely fashion."  
Sebastian placed his left hand over his heart and bowed, "Yes, my lord." What's this kid's problem?  
Once Ciel was out of earshot I casually asked, "What was that all about anyway?"  
Sebastian seemed to grow disgusted with the whole subject and shuddered. "To keep it in simple terms for a human such as yourself, we are about to have an unwanted visitor."  
"What do you mean by 'human such as yourself'? You say that as if you aren't human, or are implying that you are better than me. What; am I stupid or something?"  
"You are on this particular subject matter, and let's leave it at that before someone winds up mentally incapacitated.  
Malic flashed in his red-brown eyes, and for a second I could have sworn they flashed pink, but it could have just been the light or my imagination mixed with sleep deprivation. These two are hiding something; I just have to figure out what A flash of red in my peripheral vision distracted me, and it charged right towards Sebastian, who stepped out of the way at the last second, irritation flashing across his features. Whatever it was, it rose to its full height and adjusted the red coat it was wearing. "Oi, what it that?!"  
Sebastian seemed unwilling to even acknowledge this things existence, as it recovered itself. "Don't mind him; he is just a contagious pervert."  
"Bassie, you are as cold as ever, it's getting me all fired up!" I was still having a hard time believing this was a man, given how flamboyant he was. It did make sense though since his voice was way too deep to be a girl. In fact, it was a relief. I just wanted to know what institution this guy broke out of.  
The man leapt up and brushed aside some of his unnaturally red hair, leaving Sebastian to prompt, "Grell, don't you have work to be doing?"  
The man pouted, and placed a hand on his hip, "Bassie you're always so quick to try to get rid of me, but I'll be nice since I'm in a good mood, I'm already finished, and besides, all work and now play makes a girl very unhappy."  
Girl, did he just say girl? I found myself pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration, wanting to be done with this whole ordeal as well, and I hadn't even been acknowledged. Sebastian ignored Grell as he draped his arms around his tall frame, and he answered my unasked question. "He likes to refer to himself as a girl, don't ask me why, I think he needs a mental evaluation amongst other things."  
Malice flashed in the butler's red-brown eyes again as the red haired man stepped back, pretending to have gotten his feelings hurt. "I'm simply a beautiful woman trapped in a man's body; I'm the queen of the reapers and the ripest of all the fruits!" He did a little spin, and then fell backwards trying to brush up against Sebastian.  
While watching the pair, I was trying to exactally figure out what their relationship was. Sebastian seemed to completely loathe Grell, probably to the pint of wanting to kill him, yet Grell seemed to be clinging to him like a lost puppy. It was some sort of creepy infatuation or obsessive admiration he was just being intolerable. I was getting irritated just watching his many attempts to cling to the butler. If he was to do that to me I'd probably wind up hitting the poor bastard.  
Ciel glanced back into the alley, seeming unsurprised at the display that was unfolding before him. "Sebastian, hurry up and send that thing on its way, I'm ready for bed."  
As if flipping a switch, Sebastian smiled ever so slightly, and glanced down at the red haired man just as he wrapped his arms around Sebastian's waist. "Grell, what I've been working on lately has been most troublesome; would you mine terribly doing me a small favor?"  
Grell squealed, much like an excited child, and exclaimed, "Anything Bassie!"  
Sebastian leaned forward ever so slightly, earning a dark blush from the red haired man. "I would be ever so grateful if you would inform Undertaker about our departed friend here and have him come collect the body."  
Grell's bright green eyes lit up as he happily clapped his hands together and exclaimed, "I've been looking for an excuse to go see my beloved! Ooo I'd love to bear his children too!" He smirked, to reveal is extremely sharp teeth, "But not before yours Bassie."  
Disgust crossed Sebastian's featured once again, but Grell seemed to pay it no mind, and pointed out, "Bassie, you still owe me that kiss too with tongue!"  
Rolling my eyes, I headed to where Ciel was standing near the street, not wanting to really hear anymore of Grell's rambling. I don't think I'll ever meet a stranger character that this one in my whole life.  
Ciel still had his arms wrapped around himself, and seemed to be tired more than anything, since he had his eye closed. He started as I draped me coat over his small frame, but seemed to grow agitated when he saw me and promptly handed it back. "I don't need you patronizing me."  
Sighing, I rested against the wall next to him, letting the coldness seep through my thin shirt, "Kid, I'm not patronizing you, you'd know if I was, and what's so bad about accepting help from others?"  
"I don't need help from others, if I can't accomplish things on my own that just means I'm not trying hard enough. Others assume you are incapable of doing things at the first sign of weakness, so you don't show any. You are the most reliable person you will ever meet."  
He glanced over to gauge my reaction, and seemed to be writing my off as an idiot for being surprised at such an answer. What had happened to this kid for him to be able to come up with a response like this?  
I glanced down at him, and for the first time I noticed the eye patch he was wearing. Since when did he have that? I generally tended to not pay attention to people's facial features or names really. I just studied body language; you didn't need names or faces for that.  
He went back to staring at the uneven cobblestones, "I wasn't expecting you to understand anyway, you probably just another one of those bleeding hearts that will dye trying to protect someone who doesn't even know your name."  
"That's not true; it's the thinking of an independent spirit. Someone who will do what they believe is right without letting other people's opinions sway their own decisions. From what I'm gathering you're all those things and then some."  
He didn't seem to object; in fact he seemed a bit amused by my response. "Maybe you're right, but even then," he paused and came to stand on the sidewalk. "Even then, that doesn't mean that we are the same. Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to my manor, it's late and I need to be up early tomorrow."  
A small smile worked its way onto my face and I tousled his blue-black hair, "Sure kid, see 'ya tomorrow."  
He smacked my hand away and ran a hand through his hair in attempts to fix it, "Don't touch me."

"Whatever you say kid," I rolled my eyes and watched him take a couple steps forward.  
Sebastian stepped out of the alley way, and Grell came prancing out, looking on top of the world. ""Bye Bassie, we'll have to play next time! I'm dying to paint you red!"  
Sebastian ignored Grell as he rushed off down the street, and refocused on the child in front of him, "Young Master, are you ready to go?"  
Sebastian smiled cheekily when met with Ciel's apathetic glare. Saying nothing, Ciel climbing into his waiting carriage, not answering the obvious question, after all, he had been saying he was ready to leave since he got here.  
Before climbing in next to Ciel, Sebastian eyes me wearily, and for a second his eyes flashed that pink color again. I really need to start sleeping regularly.  
Shaking my head slightly, I turned back to the alley, ready to start packing things up. Abaroa came out into the alleyway, looking around for me, then said, "I'm out of film, do you want me to go get some more or?"  
I shook my head, not really feeling like spending any more time in there. After a while it would just start to feel like I was overlooking something, and that would only further irritate me. "Nah, let's pack it up; I'm beat and it's getting late." I also don't want to be here when that red haired fellow comes back with the coroner.  
Abaroa nodded curtly, and headed back into the apartment. I stared up at the crescent moon for a couple seconds, and a subtle breeze blew through. Taking a deep breath, I sighed contently and went to help Abaroa; I have a sinking feeling that this is going to be a very eventful case.

A sigh escaped me as I stood outside a faded, yellow brick building with a purple sign that had 'Undertaker' in white letters. The windows were heavily tinted, and several coffins, that I hoped were empty, leaned against the wall. This kid is the first one to complain about being dragged out but he doesn't even have the courtesy to show up on time. I had half a mind to go in there and start without him, only I didn't trust the building too much, and Abaroa wasn't here to send in first; he was too busy developing prints to even bother with coming out. I personally didn't mind, that meant I'd have something to look at later.  
A black carriage came ambling down the road, and it stopped down the road a bit. Ciel climbed out, accompanied by Sebastian, before it ambled off, leaving the pair heading towards me. "I'm surprised you managed to show up on time."  
"It doesn't surprise me that you haven't."  
Irritation briefly crossed Ciel's features, but he didn't reply and changed the topic, "Let's just get this over with."  
I opened the door for the young boy, assuring that he was the first to enter the dimly lit shop. After entering, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched, which wasn't something one wanted to feel when surrounded by coffins.  
A shiver ran down my spine, after the sensation of someone running some long object down it, and a voice from behind me suddenly asked, "Young Earl, who is this? Am I fitting him for a coffin?"  
Insane giggles erupted behind me as I turned quickly to find a man with long gray hair standing behind me. "Sorry to disappoint, but I don't plan on dying anytime soon."  
He cocked his head to one side and frowned slightly, clasping his hands together in front of him. After a long moment, he ran one of his long, black fingernails down the side of my face and giggled again, "Pity, I'd love to fit you for a coffin almost as much as I would the little earl here."  
The man came to stand in front of Ciel, smiling like the Cheshire cat, "I assume you're here to talk about the girl I found yesterday."  
Ciel nodded curtly, "Yes, now please get to the point."  
"My, my, someone's grumpy; did the little earl not get enough sleep last night?"  
The undertaker poked Ciel's face, earning that cold, apathetic glare. "Blame him; he's the one who kept me up."  
This kid isn't going to let that go is he? Figuring I'd play along, I smiled impishly and agreed, before asking, "What exactally can you tell us?"  
Offering us seats on one of the closed coffins that sat around a hot plate, the undertaker went on to this elaborate production of what he found. "Well first off, she didn't die of blood loss," he traced a line along one of Ciel's major arteries.  
"Then what did she die from?"  
The undertaker smirked mischievously, "Mercury poisoning, normally it takes a while to take effect, but when consumed in such large quantities, it causes death." That makes enough sense, and it explains the tea. Mercury is also used when making hats, so it can't be that hard to obtain either, if you know the right people.  
Not skipping a beat Ciel then asked, "Have there been any other bodies found with similar appearance been dropped off here recently?"  
"No, it's been quite slow recently in fact, what with the little lord not stopping by to grace me with his laughter."  
Ciel's eye twitched briefly, but he didn't say anything in response to the comment. Sebastian was the one to ask the next question. "Do you have any idea as to what was involved?"  
What? Doesn't he mean who? It dawned on me that this probably had to do with whatever the pair was being so secretive about. Instead of questioning them, I decided to go with it, and try to figure things out instead. "It wasn't us if that's what you mean, that leaves a pair, just like you!"  
Sebastian seemed to think this over, running through a mental list of options. Like them, meaning what? A young child and a young man? That wasn't much to go off of. I didn't really know much about either one of them, I mean that manor he lives in got burned down a couple times. He was an orphan, and ran damn near every company in London. That said, what, was I looking for a religiously abused orphan?  
Something about Sebastian saying 'human such as yourself' rang through my mind again, bringing back a lot of things from last night. This whole thing is getting on my last nerve. Ciel coughed a few times, before stating, "Sebastian, I'm going outside, this dust is irritating me; I trust you can handle this?"  
"Of course, my lord; please be careful."  
As Ciel headed towards the door, I decided to follow him out to make sure he was okay. As much as he got on my nerves sometimes, I wanted to make sure he didn't keel over or something.  
Once outside, Ciel coughed one more time before settling himself near the street. "You okay k- Ciel?"  
He glared at me briefly, probably once again mistaking concern for me patronizing him. "Yes, now leave me alone."  
I leaned against the wall, and glanced over at him. I don't know if it was just me, but he seemed a little on the pale side. "You want some water of something?"  
"No." I kept an eye on him, without him really noticing too much. He closed his eye and took several deep breaths, coughed again, then went back to meditational breathing. He must have some sort of condition.  
"Why don't you take your coat off?"  
Ciel glanced over, and arched one of his eyebrows, "pardon?"  
"If you are having trouble breathing, then you want to constrict the movements of your general torso as little as possible." He looked at me skeptically, but did make any move to object as I undid the buttons on his coat and took it off. "Better?"  
He nodded slightly, and seemed a bit flustered. As soon as I was about to ask him what was wrong, he stated, "T- thank you I guess."  
I tousled his hair again, earning a loud sigh, "anytime kid."  
"My name is Ciel."  
I rested my elbow on his shoulder, and glanced down at him, as he stared up at me, growing more and more irritated by the second. "I know kid, but as I see it you are my underling, age-wise at least, so I can call you kid all I want."  
"How would you like it if I just started calling you 'man'?"

I shrugged slightly, and tousled Ciel's hair again. He pouted as I replied, "I don't think I'd mind very much, it is what I am, and who am I to say I can't be called what I am."  
Ciel quickly realized what I was saying and was quick to say, "I'm fourteen years old, I am not a child."  
"Keep telling yourself that kid, as much life experience as you may have, it takes a lot more than that and age to not be deemed a child."  
Working his way out from under my elbow, Ciel stared up at me and smirked, "Then in your book, just what does it take to not be considered a kid?"  
I sighed softly, and glanced down at him, "You'll know when it happens, just stop being in such a rush to grow up, 'kay kid?"  
For a brief second, I could have sworn I say something similar to sympathy flash through his eye, but he quickly looked away, looking anywhere but me, "Don't get your hopes up, it's not going to happen." I rested my hand on top of his head, staring down at the small boy that stood next to me, poor kid, I wish there was something I could do.


	5. Chapter 5

"Young master, I have everything you requested." The chair I was sitting in creaked slightly as I turned around to face the Sebastian. He dropped a thick manila envelope onto the table, with a somewhat loud thud. "I have also compiled a list of possible suspects with the information we have, combined with that which was presented in Gus' notes."  
I nodded slightly as Sebastian placed a sheet of paper onto the desk, "Is there anybody know on that list?"  
"I'm afraid not."  
I didn't know why that surprised me so much; I tended to not associate myself with anybody with strong religious preferences. It just made things more difficult because I needed to come up with a fairly normal reason for inviting a bunch of strangers over. I might just as well throw a party; Sebastian can make up the guest list. There was a large stack of unopened party invitations sitting in my desk, so I was sure at least some of those people would show up.  
"Alright; start making a guest list, and start planning a party. It's going to be on Saturday, I don't feel like idling around with this case."  
"Of course, young master. Will there be anything else?"  
"No."  
"I shall begin preparations right away then," Sebastian bowed before leaving the room. Envelope in hand, I turned the chair back around as the door clicked shut. The other list lay abandoned on the desk since I had no need for it. I didn't know anyone and none of the names would probably be familiar to me.  
I opened the thick envelope and pulled out all the papers. Why do I have a feeling Gus' track record isn't as clean as it should be for a cop?  
Majority in the papers, in the folder were reports for fighting, disorderly conduct, detention slips, expulsion hearings, and reports filed from teachers about him being insubordinate. It would have been nice to know all of this ahead of time. Then again it does explain his stubbornness.  
I had stuffed all the loose papers back in the folder, and all that was left was another smaller folder with 'unsolved' stamped across the front in red. Now this looks promising.  
I rummaged through all the loose papers and pictures, coming to realize why Gus was so quick to accept a new. After all it was customary for most officers to take some time off after solving a case. Considering this one hit so close to home, it was no wonder he leapt at the chance. He just better not let his personal feeling cloud his judgment, otherwise we will have some issues.

My shoulder was shook by Abaroa as he loudly stated, "Gus, Sebastian is here for you."  
Slowly lifting my head off the desk and rubbing the aching muscles in my neck, I briefly glanced at the clock on the wall. I really need to stop staying up all night; I can't be sleeping all day when I'm on a case. Stretching out my shoulders and arching my back, I asked, "What does he want?"  
Abaroa seemed to grow frustrated as he slowly explained, "I don't know, he just said it involves the case and he wants to talk to you."  
Leaning forward, I rested my forehead against the surface of the desk, "Can't it wait?"  
I closed my eyes again, having no urge to be sociable; all I wanted to do was sleep. "No he's here now and I know you won't go to the manor to see what he wanted. If you listened to me yesterday when I told you to go to bed you wouldn't still be sleeping now."  
I glared at him halfheartedly, demanding, "Don't nag me, you hold no authority over me."  
"What have you accomplished in the past ten hours that couldn't have been put off for a decent night's sleep?"  
Suppressing a sigh, I tried to come up with an answer. I hadn't really done anything than go over notes that I had practically memorized and feel like I'm overlooking something. I hadn't made any progress at all, but I wasn't about to admit it. "Exactally, I wouldn't nag you if you weren't always doing stupid things!"  
I only half heard him since I was practically asleep already. "Laying there isn't going to help you; get up and walk around because you aren't sleeping all day. I refuse to be woken up damn near every two hours because you can't use a stove."  
He kicked my chair away from the desk and I would've fallen forward if I had actually fallen asleep again. It was obvious he was frustrated with me, but that was a good thing. I was wondering how long it was going to take for him finally snap, I just figured it would be over something a lot more insignificant that this. Took him long enough to grow a pair, I was wondering how long it was going to take.  
Standing, I came to notice that his face was slightly flushed and for once he didn't shy away when I tried to get him to stand down. I hope this kid isn't stubborn; otherwise that will cause some conflict. "Fine."  
He seemed surprised, and unprepared, for me to comply so easily, and skeptically asked, "W- what?"  
I waved him off as I headed out into the hall, running a hand through my hair. "Why don't you go make lunch, I'm hungry."  
He didn't object, and shortly after entering the front room I could hear pots being shifted around in the kitchen. At least I'm going to get some food out of this whole thing.  
Sebastian reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a thick envelope. I took it from him and he smiled in a manner that was probably supposed to be charming; I just found it sarcastic. "The young master wished for me to personally deliver this to you and hopes that you will be in attendance."  
I sighed softly, not really wanting to read, or even open, the envelope, "What are you talking about?"  
The smiled quickly faded and Sebastian sighed. "We have come up with a list of possible suspects and the young master decided it best to investigate by throwing a party. Seeing as how it pertains to the case, I would assume that you hold this in very high priority."  
Despite my not wanting anything to do with parties, or any other social engagement, I was obligated to go. "When is it?"  
"All the information is on the card just make sure you show up early, the young master has some things he wishes to discuss with you."  
"My, my, someone's getting irritated; I seem to have that effect on people today." I flashed Sebastian an impish grin and he just glared at me in return.  
Sebastian obviously didn't want to spend any more time here than he needed to. "If you don't mind I'll be showing myself out now; I have to get back to the young master." He turned sharply and left, leaving me standing there holding the envelope.  
Letting out a frustrated sigh, I flopped into a nearby chair and broke the red seal. I can't stand parties; they're almost as bad as people. I always wind up being forced to make chitchat with people I don't know. I preferred standing in the corner, and most of the time it got me out of talking and being sociable. If it worked at work parties where people actually knew it, it was bound be twice as effective in a room filled with people I didn't know and would never meet again.  
Abaroa entered carrying a bowl and some bread as I studied the card. Wait a minute, this kid is tossing together a party in a couple days? I found myself wondering if he was actually going to pull it off, I went to one upscale party once and it seemed like that thing took weeks to plan. This kid is just full of surprises isn't he?  
"Can I ask what that was about?"  
What little was left of my good mood quickly dissipated as I tossed the card aside. "I have to go to a stupid party because that kid couldn't come up with a better idea to get together all the suspects. It probably won't amount to anything though since people tend to hide what they are really thinking when out at parties. From what I'm gathering this kid probably doesn't even know anybody he's inviting so they'll be even more politically correct."

Abaroa nodded slightly, before asking, "Aren't you good at figuring people out though?" I shrugged slightly, not even bothering to answer; it wasn't like he would have believed me if I said no anyway. Knowing Abaroa he'd take it as my being modest and not honest, although I tended to have a big mouth at times so I would hardly consider anything I say to deny my talents would be modesty.  
As the silence drew on, Abaroa realized I had no intention of answering and asked, "When is it?"  
"Saturday." The mere mention of the word was enough to get me worked up, and I could feel a headache forming; although that was probably due to me not eating anything in the past couple days other than gummy bears and toast.  
I traded Abaroa for the soup, and he looked at the card before sheepishly saying, "Sorry Gus, you'll have to go without me; I'm busy."  
Letting out an irritated huff, I loudly asked, "Why the hell not?!"  
Abaroa winced at my sudden outburst, and hesitantly began, "Well, uh " He trailed off, seeming unwilling to continue, but I arched one of my eyebrows and just stared at him. I kept my expression completely neutral and to my advantage Abaroa interpreted it as me being mad. "Martha asked me to go see some play with her and I couldn't think of a polite way to say no."  
I shifted around in the chair to get more comfortable while eating my soup and replied, "It's simple: no."  
He laughed nervously and ran a hand through his dark hair, "That's easier said than done."  
Just to get him all nervous I leaned forward and pointed with my spoon, "What makes you think I'm gonna let you go?"  
Abaroa nervously fidgeted with the hem of his shirt and slowly replied, "The fact that you wouldn't want to drag me out since I would only interfere with your work and you'd rather not be sociable and you're a bigger target for small talk if I'm with you."  
He flashed me a cheeky smirk and I honestly couldn't have come up with a better response if I was asked the question. In all honesty, I was just pursuing the subject to be nosy. "You just better get the rest of those pictures developed; having a social life doesn't mean you can slack off with your work.  
Abaroa nodded happily and smiled, "Don't worry, I'm almost done, I ran out of developing fluid."  
I rolled my eyes skeptically, figuring there was no way he went through a whole bottle of the stuff developing not even a full roll of film, and chalked it up to his procrastination. I didn't really mind though, the kid was bright, and had nearly all the pictures done. If I wasn't going to be doing any difficult work on Saturday, I didn't mind giving him the day off. Hell I'd probably wind up giving him Friday off too since I didn't have the slightest idea as to what I was supposed to be wearing.  
A sigh escaped me as I placed the half empty bowl on the table and stretched, feeling lethargic again. It was only two and if I went back to sleep now I definitely wasn't going to sleep tonight.  
On his way out the room, Abaroa chided, "Gus if you go back to sleep, I won't hesitate to 'accidently' spill some cold water on you."  
With that I stood, finding this chair a bit too comfortable, and grabbed my coat, deciding it was best I took a walk.

I kept adjusting the ruffled collar on my shirt as I glanced around the empty foyer. Some clumsy maid with cracked glasses had let me in before rushing off to find Ciel. The evening hasn't even begun yet and I'm already getting sick of wearing this thing.  
I roamed around the large room, not really wanting to stand still for too long. It was too quiet and it made me nervous, along with the fact that this place was too big for comfort. Heels clicked on the tiled floor as the maid came rushing back in, stating she would take me to see 'the young master'.  
I nodded slightly, and followed the red haired maid. She easily navigated through the seeming endless maze of corridors and stopped just outside a large door, "The young master's room is just through there, it is."  
I nodded again and thanked her. After she rounded a corner I entered the room to find Ciel having his dark blue coat being buttoned up by Sebastian. "I'm surprised you even bothered to get dressed up," Ciel commented smugly, while running a hand through his bluish hair.  
"I could do without your comments kid, be happy I even bothered to show up, because I had half a mind to stay home."  
He smiled slightly as Sebastian stood and went to stand by his side, "I know you would have showed up whether I asked you to or not, that's the kind of stubborn and out spoken person you are."  
I rolled my eyes and rested my weight against the doorframe, "You don't know me, and I certainly don't know you; not that I would want to you arrogant brat."  
Ciel smirked knowingly but didn't say anymore to me. "Sebastian what time is it?"  
"Nine ten, young master."  
Ciel nodded and led the way out the room, directing me to follow. I did, but after a while I came to realize that we weren't heading back to the foyer. We wound up sitting in a drawing room at a small table, and when confronted with my questioning stare Ciel commented, "I don't need to be down there for at least another twenty minutes. All that everybody is going to do who shows up now is gossip with one another. The only reason half these people who aren't on the list showed up to be polite or attempt to climb the social ladder."  
I leaned back in the chair, balancing it on two legs, "I never knew throwing a party could be so complicated; I'm glad I don't have them."  
"Parties in high-society are a lot different than they would be for you."  
Returning the chair to its place on the floor I leaned forward and stared at Ciel, attempting to read him, "I wouldn't know because parties are stupid; I haven't been to one since I was a kid."  
Ciel smirked knowingly again and leaned forward as well, tipping his head slightly to one side, "I wonder why that would be."  
I knew he knew something, and it was probably because he finally did that background check on me. The only reason I figured that out was because the file involving my parent's murder was missing from my file cabinet when I went to get it. That and the fact that Ciel seemed to be avoiding the specifics while pinpointing them directly. "I bet you feel clever for prying into my personal affairs."  
The smirk quickly faded as Ciel realized I had figured out his little game, but it didn't deter him from retorting. "Not really, although I do commend you for not letting your emotions get in the way of things; I know I would have some issues with being dragged to face my demons." I couldn't figure out whether he was being sarcastic or sincere, but his tone didn't really reflect sarcasm. Then again it didn't really reflect sympathy either.  
I stared into his one blue eye and for a second I could have sworn I saw sadness lurking just beneath the surface, but it disappeared a quickly as I had spotted it. "Thanks kid."  
Ciel sighed softly as the clock in the corner of the room chimed the half hour. "Just for tonight, call me Ciel, okay?"  
"No promises," I paused and smirked cheekily as Ciel stood. He wearily eyed me as I stood. That weariness quickly changed to irritation as I ruffled his hair, "Sure Ciel, I think I can manage that much." After he smacked my hand away and tried to fix his hair I added, "Don't blame me if I slip up though."  
He glared at me as I winked, then briskly strode out, leaving me to catch up.

While we had wasted time upstairs the foyer had filled up with people. I followed Ciel around as he greeted about a quarter of the people here, before we situated ourselves near one of the pillars that lined the room. "So, does anybody strike you as odd yet?"  
"Ignoring all the religious talk not really. Most people who have suffered abuse tend to stay a bit weary of strangers, no matter how long it's been. And most of these people don't fit the age range the witnesses gave up. For all you know, they didn't even show up."  
Ciel seemed to grow frustrated, but quickly put on a fake smile as another small group of people came over to greet him. While Ciel made small talk I glanced around the large crowd of people, trying to weed out anybody that looked slightly promising. There was this girl standing as part of a group, talking with some of the priests, but I figured she was just one of their daughters and didn't really pay her any mind. From the month that I lasted in a catholic school, I knew that members of the church liked to drag their whole family out to such affairs as if to prove that their family was truly a 'blessing from God'.  
"See anybody?"  
"Nope, this party is a bust, have fun for the next two hours." I was ready to leave, and took a step to the side, but Ciel grabbed my wrist and made me stay with him, silently demanding not to be left alone. I sighed softly, beginning to wonder what this kid would actually do by himself, but at the same time it was kind of cute. I mean, he liked acting all tough, but deep down he was a kid, just like I called him. "What kid got something to ask me?"  
Ciel's face flushed slightly as he released my wrist, "Well if you have nothing to say kid, I'll be leaving."  
Staring off to the side, Ciel quietly demanded, "Stay."  
"What kid, I could hear you over all this arrogance?"  
Ciel sighed softly and plastered a child-like smile across his face, "Please stay with me."  
I thoughtfully stared down at him before tousling his hair again, and smirking, "Sure Ciel, we can suffer through all this small talk together. You do the talking and I'll serve as moral support."  
"Thank you ever so much," His response was dripping with sarcasm, and I would have retorted but someone else came over to make some small talk.  
Sebastian materialized out of nowhere, pretending to have some business with Ciel, and stood slightly in front of him as if these new comers posed a threat.  
I realized it was the girl from before who was talking with the priests. She wore a large cross on a choker, with chains handing from it around her neck, and a lacy dark red dress. Her curled blonde hair swayed back and forth as she smiled warmly, he light grey-purple eyes shining brightly. "The path chosen for me by God has led me here this evening, and I'm glad for it. You are such an excellent host Earl Phantomhive. Even though it's a few years too late, I offer up my condolences and my prayers. You parents were wonderful people and I'm confident they are both in a better place now waiting for you with open arms."  
I found myself nauseous with how friendly and bubbly this girl was, quite frankly I found it irritating. I almost preferred all the grouchy nuns back at the school to this; at least they didn't act so damn happy. Ciel seemed to be having the same reaction, because his hand wrapped tighter around his cane, causing his knuckles turning white.  
Despite that, he returned the smile, although it was painfully obvious that it was fake and replied, "Thank you for your concern, I appreciate the gesture, although I'm afraid I can't quite recall your name."  
The girl's smile gradually faded, but the light still sparkled in her eyes. Sadly her voice didn't drop from where it was, it was obnoxiously high pitched while being pleasantly musical. It was eerie.  
As the girl opened her mouth, the tall young man standing next to her bowed slightly and replied, "This is Lady Raziela."  
Raziela was quick to add, "There is no need to be so formal though, I would be much more comfortable if you would just call me Raziela." She gestured to the man next to her and added, "This is Lahash, my escort."  
Lahash nodded slightly as Raziela took his arm. He brushed back some of the black hair that covered one side of his face, to briefly reveal his left black eye. The tips of his hair were a bright red color, and his nails were black. On his left hand there was some sort of mark that was briefly revealed when his sleeved pulled back, but it was covered by the pointed sleeves of his tight black shirt.  
Ciel nodded slightly, "Then please feel free to call me Ciel, this is Sebastian, my butler," he gestured to Sebastian, who gave that same falsely warm smile. "And this is Detective Gus," he pointed to me, and I offered a small bow.  
Her eyes seemed to widen in excitement, and she locked eyes with me, "It's so nice to meet a member of London's finest as well, I'm glad that my safety is left in your hands while I am here."  
All the light seemed to be clouded by something, strong emotions like despair and sadness, leaving me wondering what was happening to her behind closed doors. I quickly glanced away, and nodded slightly, "I try my best."  
Ciel had control of the floor and asked, "Might I ask what you mean by, 'while you're here'?"  
Raziela briefly seemed tired, but quickly smiled again and replied, "I'm visiting my relatives here; I'm heading back to Romania next week."  
She hadn't made eyes contact with Ciel throughout her whole story, even though she seemed to make a point of it, and she seemed to tense up ever so slightly before answering the question. She's lying.  
I glanced down at Ciel to attempt to convey this, but he already seemed to know, and I noticed Sebastian straighten up slightly.  
Lahash seemed to frown slightly, and move slightly in front of Raziela as he locked eyes with Sebastian. Sebastian moved to stand in front of Ciel a bit more than he already had been, and his eyes seemed to be that strange pink color again. Lahash's black eyes seemed to be the same color now.  
Ciel and Raziela both seemed to pretend that they didn't notice it, but they had run out of small talk. Raziela tightly gripped Lahash's arm and forced a smile, "Well I'll let you get back to hosting, I'm sure a lot of others would love to have an opportunity to speak with you. Thank you for allowing me to hold you up for so long." She gave a small curtsey before practically dragging Lahash away, but he still glanced back occasionally to glare at Sebastian.  
Before she disappeared back into the crowd, I made out some faded scars on her back, and could have sworn some of them were in the shape of crosses.  
Sebastian turned to stand directly in front of Ciel and stated, "It's them."  
"Are your sure Sebastian?"  
Ceil seemed completely indifferent to what had just happened, in fact he made it seem like that was normal occurrence. "What grounds do you have?"  
The pair ignored me, and I could tell this whole this pertained to whatever they were being so secretive about, "Yes, and I can assure you that his mark will match that found "  
Ciel nodded slightly, before glancing over at me and saying, "Keep an eye on them."  
Sebastian nodded and bowed with his hand over his heart, before dissolving back into the crowd. "Will you please explain to me what is going on here? I'm sick of feeling like I don't know what I'm doing because you two aren't telling me something!"  
Ciel turned sharply and glared at me, "You don't need to know because after this case you probably won't even see me again. And I know for a fact that you had no grounds for taking this case other that a personal association. You should be happy you don't know."  
"Even if I did take this case for personal reasons, which I didn't, you still have to follow protocol."

Ciel stared up at me, seeming to be growing increasingly irritated by the second, "In case you haven't noticed, you are the one who pays me off to keep things you don't want leaking out to the public leaking out. If I was you I drop this whole thing right now and be happy you don't know a damn thing about what is really going on."  
"I don't care, what I do care about is tying up any loose ends for this and I want to know one solid reason for you suddenly suspecting those two." I realized how hypocritical the question seemed, since I got strange vibes from the pair of them too, it was the same way Sebastian left me feeling at times when he put on that pathetic smile or went into one of his half conversations with Ciel. As childish as it was, I didn't want to feel like I was being left out.  
Ciel gazed at me with his blue eye and asked me if I really wanted to know. I nodded, despite the chill that ran up my spine and he led me off down one of the side halls and into an empty guest room.  
He turned on the light, and carefully undid the knot that held his eye patch into place. Ciel carefully placed the black fabric onto the nightstand next to him before turning to reveal a pentagram emblazoned on his right eye. I always figured he wore it because he had a scar or maybe he couldn't see out of it or something, but this this was something else. Although it was quite puzzling figuring out how that was there I mean it didn't look like a glass eye. But if it was, it was top notch craftsman ship. "Big deal kid, a lot of people have glass eyes."  
He sighed softly, and pinched the bridge of his nose, seeming irritated, "It's not fake."  
As if proving a point, he glanced away briefly, to prove that it was in fact real. Involuntarily, I found myself taking a step forward, "Then how?"  
He smirked, letting his hair fall back in front of his eye. "I simply sold my soul."  
This is single handedly, the most ignorant, non-sensical thing I've heard in a while. "Alright kid, whatever you say. If you really did, who'd you sell it to?"  
"As if the answer isn't obvious enough: Sebastian."  
A silence formed as I attempted to begin to process things. Sure the pair of them was a bit strange, but to fabricate something so obviously fake was a different story entirely. What's worse if he's probably bought into this whole thing so much, that he actually believes it is true! This would explain why it seemed like he was telling the truth. Logically speaking this was wrong, and impossible.  
As if he was reading my mind, Ciel stated, "Stop overthinking it, you should have abandoned everything you though you knew the second you took that first step to follow me here." He picked up his eye patch and put it back on, then turned around and smirked. "You honestly can't say that you are tacking what you just saw up to some petty rivalry can you? Or is that how you are going to pretend you haven't noticed other things as well. I can tell you for a fact that that thing you encountered wasn't human."  
This isn't possible, it's just some sick joke, stuff like this isn't real, and this kid has just spent too much time reading scary stories or something. The walls seemed to be closing in one me as I contemplated things, not wanting to believe any of it. I couldn't remember a time I was in such a state of denial since I was younger. Especially since this tiny voice in the back of my mind kept telling me it made sense.  
"I need some air." Turning sharply, I made my way out the room, back down the hall, and worked my way through the seemingly endless crowd of people until I was standing a few yards away from the manor.  
The cold air that swirled around me some comfort, and allowed me to think a lot more clearly than I had inside. This whole thing doesn't make any sense.  
Feeling claustrophobic, I sat on the ground, took off my blazer, and undid the top few buttons on my undershirt. I don't know what I had done to feel so drained, but I closed my eyes, suddenly not wanting to anything but sleep. "If you're just going to stand there the least you can do if have the common curtsy to make your presence know; or does 'your kind' not do that?"  
I opened my eyes and glanced behind me to find Sebastian standing there, "It depends on the circumstances I suppose " He seemed to be genuinely pondering the concept, before changing the subject, "I trust you can keep your mouth shut on this subject, otherwise I might have to shut it permanently."  
This kid must have been living in this demented fantasy for years now, and he didn't really seem to be harming himself or others. So if he wanted to keep this up I guess it's really none of my business. "I couldn't care less, like the kid said after this case I probably won't even see the pair of you again." With that I stood, and picked up my coat, having no intention of spending any more time here. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be leaving now."  
Before Sebastian could say anything, I walked away, and headed towards my carriage, this place is just filled with nut jobs.


	6. Chapter 6

"Gus, I have what you wanted me to pick up for you." Abaroa dropped a thin manila envelope onto the growing stack of papers to my right that threatened to consume the entirety of my desk and drag me along for the ride. I feel like I'm getting nowhere.  
A slight nod was the only acknowledgement Abaroa received from me as I continued to pour over the notes I had just about memorized. I refused to admit that Ciel, with his delusional mindset and baseless assumptions, was correct. However, if he was then I might just as well have taken what he said and rolled with it. Now it was just a matter of trying to have a biased mindset and try to find a solid basis for this girl wanting to kill people. I just wish it was a lot easier to connect the dots, given that there was next to no evidence.  
There was also no need for me to take anything else Ciel said seriously, since it was pretty obvious he didn't take half the things that came out of my mouth seriously. After that party I wasn't even going to associate myself with him until the time came to write a report.  
I could feel Abaroa's eyes on me as he watched from the doorway, before his footsteps began to echo off the wooden floor. "If you insist on cooping yourself up inside all day the least you can do it open the windows."  
The rusty latches that held the windows closed squeaked slightly as Abaroa undid them, and weak natural light filtered into the room after he tied back the thick, green drapes. He left after I pretended not to notice the intrusion of the outside world then left. A breeze blew in through the now open window; rustling some of the many papers on the desk. There has to be something I'm missing.  
With a sigh I shoved away from the desk, scraping the chair against the floor in the process and making more scratches in the slightly uneven surface. Standing in front of the window and watching what little street traffic there was, I came to gain a sense of cabin fever, despite having stayed inside for so long due to my own devices. I probably wouldn't have even noticed it in the first place if Abaroa hadn't taken the initiative to open the window in the first place.  
The darkening grey skies that hung overhead was a sure sign of impending rain, so I decided to take advantage of the presently good weather and take a walk. It wasn't like I was really doing anything productive inside, and a walk was just the thing I needed to clear my head.  
After having taken that first step out into the street, I felt a lot more put together since I didn't have the stress of a bunch of case notes sitting in front of me. It was a relief from their seemingly open mocking of me, like they knew something I didn't but I was supposed to. I daresay I even felt relaxed with not having to focus on the same thing I had been for the next hour or so.  
There was no particular location I had in mind, but I knew I wasn't allowed into the candy store. The last time I was in there I stocked up on gummy bears and holed up in my room for a day and a half. Since the incident, Abaroa forbade me from going there and made sure I never carried around enough money to buy more than a small bag of candy. Not that he knew just where all of my money was.  
Glancing up from the uneven cobblestones, I found myself standing outside the faded, yellow brick building that Ciel had dragged me to the other day. Even if the undertaker inside was one of Ciel's informants, he didn't seem very biased. He also seemed to be the only other person that actually understood everything that was going on with not just the case, but Ciel and his butler.  
Cautiously entering the dimly lit shop, I prepared myself for any unwanted surprises that could possibly come creeping out from the wood works. Despite straining just about all my senses, I jumped slightly as the undertaker crept out from behind a nearby corner. "You were here with the Lord Earl the other day, weren't you?"  
The undertaker tipped his head to one side in a somewhat quizzical manner, and a wide grin worked its way onto his face. "Yes," I cleared my throat before adding, "I was."  
He tipped his head to the other side, "What brings you here today," he reached into his sleeve and pulled out a tape measure before adding, "Perhaps I shall fit you for a coffin?  
The strange undertaker giggled, taking way too much pleasure in his job. "I'm going to have to say no on this one, if I die anytime soon I want to be burned and shipped back home to my uncles."  
The undertaker frowned slightly and took a step forward, "What a pity, I'd just love to have the wonderful honor of making you pretty once again before the second most important day of your life." The amount of strange characters this child knows is staggering.  
After motioning for me to sit on one of the many closed, and hopefully empty, coffins, the undertaker sat across from me, "What brings you here on this wonderfully dreary afternoon?"  
The undertaker leaned forward, causing some of his long gray hair to fall over his shoulder. "Nothing really, I was just out taking a walk, since I needed a break from the case, and decided I would come here."  
"Oh yes, how is that going? The Lord Earl seemed very agitated when he stopped by again yesterday."  
Looks like I'm not the only one who is retracing their steps. Shifting slightly, I shrugged, "I wouldn't know how things are going on his end; we aren't speaking at this moment. Not that i really care; the kid is just a mental case just waiting to happen."  
The undertaker stood, giggling that mildly insane giggle that must have been his trademark. "You know."  
I sighed softly, not in the mood for any more games, especially if they deal with more delusional fantasies. The undertaker leaned forward and tapped my left eye with one of his long black nails. I blinked with every tap as he slowly repeated, "you. Know."  
Don't tell me he bought into all of this too! I was starting to lose faith in those that were put in charge of 'controlling' the underworld. They all seemed to be a special kind of eccentric that could only be fixed with intensive therapy and a strait jacket. "Yes, I know about the delusions of a young boy and his caretaker, who seems more than happy to indulge said convoluted fantasies by the way."  
Somehow the creepy man managed to get behind me without my noticing, and drape his arms around my shoulders. "So you know," he released me and came around to stand in front of me, holding his face inches away from mine, "you just don't believe anything you have been told."  
I could feel a headache forming just from thinking about the concept this undertaker was trying to present to me. "You're right; I don't because it's nonsensical." I just want this case to be over and done with, and then I can take a trip home for a few weeks and get away from all these nut cases.  
"Why is it that you say that?"  
"It's all nonsense! This isn't just some coping mechanism, that kid is stuck in this fantasy world he's created around himself! It's quite obvious all the things he's doing for the Queen aren't helping either."  
His hands grasped my face and he tipped my head from one side to the other, replying in a sing-song, "What a pity. Why do you cling to rationality in an irrational world?" He leaned closer to my face again, knowingly adding, "You should know this better than anyone."  
"You don't know me." This rocking motion was starting to irritate me, I never did like constant back and forth motion; it was one of the reasons why I couldn't stand boats.  
"You would be surprised with what a retired grim reaper can pick up on."  
Groaning, I freed my head from his grasp and stood, "Not you too." I can't put up with this anymore.  
The wooden floor creaked beneath my feet as I excused myself and headed towards the door, suddenly having the urge to be alone. "What is it that you are so afraid of?"

I paused briefly in front of the open door, weak natural light streaming in through the new found opening. "Nothing," I let the door slam shut behind me, giving my response an air of finality and I tried to regain what little sanity I had left. What is wrong with the people that I keep associating myself with?  
The streets seemed to be extra desolate and lonely, despite the fact that they were far from actually being that way. It was like some black hole had just suddenly opened up and was trying to swallow up every positive emotion I have left until I was left with nothing more than sadness and anger. Just like that day Suddenly feeling light headed and a bit groggy, I rested against a brick wall and pinched the bridge of my nose, not wanting to put any unnecessary strain on my body. I should have just let this one go. Taking a couple deep breaths, I reopened my eyes and looked around, not really wanting to focus on the emotional turmoil that was rising from the depths of my subconscious.  
It took a few minutes, but I finally recovered from my episode, and headed back towards home, out of ideas and not really knowing what I should do next.  
After I had taken a few steps into the house Abaroa greeted me with, "A letter came for you while you were out; I left it on your desk."  
"Thanks kid," I ruffled his hair on the way to my room. Pausing briefly at the overflowing desk, I grabbed the folder that Abaroa had given me earlier and an out of place red envelope before flopping down on my bed. The springs creaked as I shifted around to get comfortable, before I contemplated what I wanted to do first.  
Since I wasn't quite ready to go back to working the case, I decided to procrastinate by checking out the red envelope. 'Mr. Gus' was scripted across the front in a loopy handwriting, although I didn't know anybody who called me 'mister' (mostly because I wouldn't let them). It just seemed so stuffy and formal; the mere thought of someone using the article right before my name irked me.  
Turning the envelope over and peeling off the black seal, I found a letter inside covered in the same loopy handwriting. All the letters looked practically the same in some spots, and after a while my eyes started to hurt trying to figure out what was what.  
Dear Mr. Gus,  
I rather enjoyed your brief company at the Earl Phantomhive's party last week. I would greatly appreciate it if you would grace me with your presence once again for tea on Saturday. I feel as though you would be a wonderful conversationalist. I know this is a bit short notice, so I understand if you are unable to attend. I'm sure either path you chose will bring you nothing but happiness.  
Beneath the letter there was an address written in a much simpler script along with Raziela's signature.  
Personally speaking I didn't have anything against this girl, I just prayed, metaphorically speaking of course, that she wasn't caught up in some fantasy world as well. Despite that, I found this a good opportunity to get closer to her, and, if anything, get to the bottom of this case without having to answer to Ciel.  
Placing the invitation on the nightstand, I refocused on the task at hand and picked up the small folder in front of me. At first I was a bit hesitant to look at it contents since I had no idea as to what I was supposed to expect. Shaking my head slightly, I quickly dashed my trepidation and pressed on. How bad can such a small file really be?

"Young Master, a letter has just arrived for you."  
Nodding slightly, I turned my chair around to watch Sebastian place a red envelope with 'Earl Phantomhive' written across the front in a loopy font before me. "Who is it from?  
Taking up the envelope, I broke the seal on the back, "Our prime suspects." Is this girl stupid or just Na ve?  
Inside, there was a very long winded and very humble invitation to tea, only it was so happy I found myself nauseous Despite Elizabeth's constantly obnoxious good mood, she didn't force it down your throat.  
It was like this girl felt a burning need to fix everything around her, no matter how broken they were. You could just picture all the little gears in her subconscious straining against all the forced happiness and the illusion that everything was perfect. It would just be a matter of figuring out why she felt that way.  
Sighing, I tossed aside the envelope and its contents, promptly stating, "I'm not going, I refuse to. Any extra time spent in the presence of that girl is a waste. All I want is for you to find whatever evidence is necessary to close this case so I can be done with it."  
Sebastian bowed while responding, "Of course, young master." He returned to his full height before leaving the room, softly closing the door back behind himself. Knowing Sebastian he probably already had some plan in the works.  
Turning the chair back around, I returned to looking out the window and at the unusually cloudless sky. All the different shaded of blue were unobstructed, except for the trees, making me wonder just what sort of storm was brewing. I just hoped it involved getting rid of that girl; she got on my last nerve.

Tossing aside the thin envelope, whose contents I had been studying, I closed my eyes, suddenly feeling emotionally drained. Everything made a lot more sense than they had, and I figured out the source of the scars that girl had. I could have just handed this folder and a professional evaluation to get her locked up or something.  
There was still something that didn't seem quite right when compared with everything else or looking at the big picture. It only gave me further incentive to attend this tea party, no matter how much I truly didn't want to go.  
Flopping backwards onto the bed, I reached over and turned off the light, happy for the sudden lack of artificial light. Struggling to keep my eyes open, I eventually succumbed and buried my face in the pillow I was laying on. Before actually falling asleep, I just kept hoping that I wouldn't regret going to another social engagement, since they all seemed to be plagued by the certifiably insane.

This place gives me the creeps. I was standing in a dark purple foyer, being stared down by a stone gargoyle with ruby eyes that was perched on top of the banister at the bottom of the stairs. Sunlight struggled to penetrate the stained glass that framed the door and the skylight overhead. Dust motes slowly drifted through the air as I got a closer look at a dragon statue that sat in front of a vase of freshly cut red and white roses. I'd be surprised if this kid wasn't messed up in some way.  
I jumped slightly as the door to my left opened suddenly. The guy with the red in his hair, whose name I had long forgotten, poked his head out into the hallway and eyed me suspiciously; as if he was expecting to catch me stealing something. His black eyes roamed my frame, narrowing several times during the process, but he still didn't say anything. It was pretty obvious he didn't want me here; or he was just overly suspicious of everyone.  
He continued to study me for a few more minutes before he held open the door he was leaning out of and motioned for me to enter the room behind him. The black marble floor seemed to stretch on in front of me forever, until it turned into a burgundy carpet. Being under such close scrutiny made me nervous, and guilty of doing something I didn't have plans to do.  
Once I had passed by him, he followed closely behind despite already being where I needed to be. Raziela seemed a bit frustrated with her comrade's display. A small smile worked its way onto my face as I imagined her lecturing him on being polite. However, it quickly faded as he took a seat next to the young girl and glared at me.

Raziela seemed to sense my unease, and sharply glared at her companion before casually stating, "Don't mind Lahash, he just gets a bit edgy sometimes."  
I nodded slightly, trying to be friendly despite my nervousness, "It's understandable, there are some people you just can't trust no matter how much you may want to."  
Raziela nodded slightly before turning sideways in her chair and idly twirling some of her blonde hair. "You sound as if you have a lot of experience with such deceitful; beings "  
Raziela trailed off, seeming to be caught up in stirred up memories. She shook her head slightly, before returning to the present and smiling slightly before asking, "Please, sit down."  
"Thank you." I sat across from her, noticing that she seemed a lot more at ease than she had at the party, and didn't seem to be forcing things as much.  
She stopped twirling her hair, and gazed at me with her purple-gray eyes, "What it is like to be a cop? Protecting others is most certainly a commendable act, especially since you probably won't even get the opportunity to see said person again after your brief encounter."  
It seemed like she was trying to tactfully hit a nerve of some sort, while the same time asking purely out of curiosity and tacking on a bit of insightfulness for good measure. "I don't know; I don't really feel any different now than I did before... Actually, I'm a bit more sleep deprived, but it's worth it."  
She smiled slightly, "You must have strong morals to do what you do on a daily basis; even if it means that you might be struck down for the sake of a complete stranger. It's admirable really, so long as you don't grow arrogant with power."  
I leaned back in the chair to get a bit more comfortable, before slowly replying, "Power doesn't change a person, it just reveals their true nature."  
"That is very true." I nodded in agreement, surprised at how smart this girl was. I mean most of these upper class girls simply nodded and looked pretty, knowing nothing more than the latest gossip. It was a refreshing change, and I honestly wished there could be more people like her.  
"It's a shame though. If only the times could return to when money couldn't do just about anything and people traded for things they wanted. Both parties benefited in those situations. Gold and silver has destroyed so many great cultures because humans are greedy when it comes to things they want. It's pathetic that you can get away with just about anything if you have enough money to pay off the right people. I just wish I would be able to see a different world, where things aren't the way they are."  
Staring at an imaginary spot on the burgundy carpet, I found myself lost in some sort of trance. "Human nature is indeed something that isn't meant to be trifled with, or will ever be truly understood. After seeing everything I have seen, sometimes I find myself wondering how there can be so many different mindsets of people. Some of them just want to go unnoticed and live their lives, while others will destroy anything they touch because they got bored."  
"Yes, without good moral guidance we will be reduced to nothing more than the heathens we were before our savior appeared and spread his good word."  
Lahash coming back into the room dragged me out of my self-induced trance, although I couldn't quite remember him leaving. Lahash whispered something to Raziela, and she seemed to realize where she was again, before smiling slightly and nodding, "Go right ahead."  
The boy nodded, before heading back out through the door he had just come through. She picked up on my curiosity and explained things away, "Lahash is simply going to make some tea, after all that is the reason you came here. Although I must warn you, he has a habit of brewing it with a lot of sugar, since I have a bit of a sweet tooth."  
Smiling reassuringly, I replied, "That's no problem to me, in fact, I have a bit of a sweet tooth myself."

Rolling my eyes, I found myself wondering what the cop and my master could really know about human nature. When it came down to it they were all the same: they would do anything to get out of a bad situation no matter who they hurt in the process. They could say they wouldn't and preach being a pacifist, but when it came down to you can't talk your way out of getting the crap beat out of you for being different or not sharing the same ideals as others.  
The only way the world would fix itself is to get rid of free will, but humans seemed to no like it that much; why was beyond me since they seemed to have no problems preventing me from doing what I wanted.  
The pair of them stopped talking as I entered the room and they seemed to abruptly switch gears from whatever mindset they had taken on during the conversation. I wearily eyes the cop before leaning forward and stating, "It would appear your Earl 'friend' has sent his butler to keep an eye on us; would you like me to go politely ask what he wants?"  
Raziela smiled as if we were talking about a much less serious topic and replied, "Go right ahead."  
I nodded before making my way out of the large, brightly lit room. Apparently the cop and his suspicions weren't quelled because shortly after I could hear my contractor explaining things away by saying I was making tea.  
I guess I'm making tea now too. Sighing softly, I ran a hand through my hair, making sure it wasn't in complete disarray. Now it's just a matter of finding this demon and hope it doesn't turn into a fight, I'll never hear the end of it if it does.  
The sudden, bright light irritated my eyes, briefly, but they quickly adjusted as I glanced around the front yard. Deciding it best, I headed out towards the woods that surrounded the manor; that way if things did get violent the house was less likely to get destroyed.  
Sighing softly, I turned slightly as I sensed his presence behind me. "Just what-  
I was cut off as he threw something at me, and it lodged itself in a nearby tree. Fighting all my instincts, I let him pin me against his body with one of his gloved hands wrapped around my neck. He wasn't squeezing tight enough to injure me, but it was enough to be slightly uncomfortable. If he winds up trying to choke me I will have some problems with that girl.  
"Why don't you tell me why your human is having you go around and kill people? Your actions have caused my master a great deal of trouble."  
Letting out a low growl, I shifted slightly, resisting every urge to elbow him in the ribs. "I don't ask questions; things are more interesting that way, especially with the damaged ones." Shifting again, I tipped my head backwards so I was peering up at his face, and felt a smirk working its way onto my face. "You honestly can't say you don't find it amusing when they call out your name in the middle of the night, seeking comfort from the very things they should fear the most."  
Something flashed in his falsely colored eyes, but he quickly changed the subject so it was actually on topic, "So you don't know anything?"  
"Nope, now I kindly demand that you let me go."  
He sighed, before releasing me. I took a step away from him and began heading back towards the house, ready to be done with the whole thing. "Before you go, there is something else I wish to lay on the table."  
Turning, I ran a hand through my hair again, taking a disliking to this demons seemingly high-maintenance human. If his human really wanted to know all of this, he should have just showed up for tea like he was supposed to. "What else could that human of yours possibly want?"  
"I simply wish to convey that my master would be more than happy to stop pursuing you if your master would just give her written word that she will stop with whatever you're being told to do."

I knew this kid seemed stubborn but this was borderline perfectionist. Just because he was aligned with the queen didn't mean he could stop every bad thing that was happening in the country. I had half a mind to forge her signature after I had taken her soul and continue on to kill people just to see what he would do. However that would probably take a few years and I highly doubt that kid would be focused on this that far down the line. "I can't give you any promises for that one, Raziela tends to get pretty stubborn when it comes to her ideals. In fact if she were here now she'd probably start preaching about the 'perfect world' she wants to create."  
Turning back around, I once again began my short journey back to the house, having gained a newfound interest in what was actually going on with this case

I could sense that my afternoon with Raziela was drawing to a close when she suddenly broke the long silence by asking, "What do you think a perfect world looks like?"  
I felt my eyebrows grow closer together as I slowly replied, "excuse me?" Did I just hear that right; where is all of this coming from? After coming to comprehend the question a bit better it didn't seem that out of character given everything I had read last night. I was just hoping my answer wouldn't send her flying off the handle.  
She turned sideways in her chair again, and wrapped some of her hair around her finger, her normally high-pitched voice dropping several octaves. "A perfect world, what do you think it would look like?"  
Sighing softly I ran a hand through my hair, and continued on cautiously, taking extra care with choosing my words. "As much as I would like to believe I would see such a thing happen within my lifetime, it will probably never happen within that short span of time or ever really. There are a lot of things that determine how society acts, so it all depends on human nature really. Which we both know isn't always a desirable as we would like it to be "  
Something malicious flashed in her purple-grey eyes and she tipped her head ever so slightly to one side, "It's a pity you can't see it."  
"What am I supposed to see? Lahash conveniently rejoined us to announce the arrival of some guest. Quite frankly, I was more than happy to take my leave; things were starting to get intense.  
I stood and quickly excused myself, before exiting the room. Even if Raziela didn't realize it, I had gained enough insight from that brief conversation. When I got home it would simply be a matter of figuring out how to put words cohesively on paper before arresting her.

A thick fog had settled itself across the barren field I was standing in. All the color seemed to be muted, and drained, while there were forms in the distance that flickered in and out of sight like the dancing shadows cast by a candle's flame. What is this place?  
Turning around in a small circle, I found myself wondering just where I was. Nothing made sense, in this strange, gray landscape. Even if I took a couple steps in one direction, nothing seemed to change, and the figures in the distance didn't grow any closer. What's going on?  
The mist seemed to part briefly in front of one of the many shadows figures, before going back to hindering my vision. Everything seemed to be quiet, while not being quiet at all, like there was a sound just outside my range of hearing that I wasn't, and couldn't hope to, pick up on.  
Slowly turning around again, I tried to shake the feeling of being watched, not that it was easy since I probably was by those indistinguishable shadow figures. Closing my eyes I tried to picture something, anything, that wasn't this, and I thought it was actually going to work too, I could just feel the rays of a weakened sun bathing my skin in warmth. However when I opened my eyes things seemed to be a lot more dreary and depressing than they had been, and I didn't even think that was possible.  
The mist seemed to have grown thicker, further distorting the shadow figures so they could barely be considered humanoid. The sensation of being watched intensified, making me feel all prickly all over, and I felt like someone was just standing right behind me ready to just reach out and grab me no matter how many times I turned around. Eventually the paranoia was just too much and I was making myself dizzy from so much spinning.  
Refusing to let my rampant imagination get the better of me, I refused to turn around no matter how many times I felt like there was someone standing behind me breathing down my neck.  
Everything seemed to grow still for a brief period of time, during which, paranoia seemed to grip me once again, but I refused to acknowledge it, until something actually touched me this time.  
Jumping slightly at the unwanted touch, I quickly spun around, not really knowing what to expect there. Out of all the possibilities that were swarming around in my head, one that I didn't expect was my dad to be standing there.  
So many things were running through my mind, and the only thing I could really do it stammer ad make a bunch of failed attempts to form some sort of coherent sentence. When it was beginning to reach the point of being pathetic, he finally said, "We don't have a lot of time."  
Some of his dark blonde hair fell into his face, as I nodded slightly, not really wanting to ask questions that I was more than capable of figuring out the answers to. "You have to stop thinking about things from the way you have been. Like it or not, there are things in the world that you won't be able to explain away or rationalize. Accept that."  
"How am I-?"  
"Stop thinking so much."  
Suppressing a sigh I slowly responded, "Just why should I when in doing so I would be looked down upon for being certifiably insane."  
"Alright I'll humor you; why is it that you have yet to question this?"  
"Easy, this is obviously a dram and you are manifesting yourself as my subconscious that it trying to get me to believe in something the larger and much more rational portion of my brain refuses to believe exists."  
There was a very long pause, then my father sighed, before reaching over and pinching my arm and it actually hurt. This isn't right. "Now what do you have to say?"  
"I- it's just a coincidence."  
"You and I both know that's not true."  
This isn't right I'm hallucinating none of this is real it can't be. I don't want it to be For whatever reason it was, probably frustration, I found myself fighting back tears. I desperately wanted all of this to be not be real but it was and I would have to deal with it one way or another; whether I wanted to or not. "Why?"  
My father gestured around at all the shadow figured that had gathered around throughout the entirety of the conversation. Except they weren't all strangers like I expected them to be, I had seen most of them in the morgue, or in the paper all of them were victims from this case. "Help us find peace."  
I wanted to disappear, or just not be here right now. I'm just supposed to completely accept that demons and who knows what else are real, with no questions asked. Not to mention going against everything I was taught by working on the force and just go on the word of a seemingly delusional child and the man he claims is a demon. "I "  
"You already are, just keep an open mind."  
I've been hearing this a lot lately "I can try, I guess, but there are no promises."  
My dad smiled fondly, and tousled my hair, as if I was no more than five again, "That's all I can ask for." He took a step backwards and the mist seemed to swallow him back up, along with all the other shadow figures, until I was just standing there face to face with a whitish-gray wall, unable to see my hand in front of my face.

A breeze seemed to blow through the wasteland as well, but the mist didn't seem affected, in fact it seemed like I was the only thing affected by it; albeit I was the only thing around now with all the...souls, I guess, gone off to wherever they were before. After briefly closing my eyes, I looked around, not really expecting to see anything; I was just trying to figure out how to get back to London. I wouldn't be of any use to anybody if I was trapped in some sort of limbo for the rest of my life.  
As much as I didn't want to start explaining away this whole thing, there really wasn't and I'd have to ignore my stubbornness for some matter of time and come to terms with everything.  
Wandering around, I tried to do anything but think, however it proved to be more difficult than someone would expect. I kept asking myself what else could possible exist; I mean if demons were real, and apparently grim reapers and limbo, there was an endless list of possibilities. I didn't really want to think about half of them though.  
If we were dealing with demons, and Ciel was always sent to deal with things of this nature that meant there was probably a lot of other things that got covered up every time the chief went to pay that kid off. I honestly wanted to know now, no matter how bad it was anything would be better than staying in the dark about everything.  
The one thing I wanted most of all was for this case to be over and done with, things could go back to being somewhat back to normal and I wouldn't have my beliefs of all the things that supposedly went bump in the night being questions by young and full grown adults.


	7. Chapter 7

After taking a deep breath, I glared down at the sheet of paper that sat before me on the cluttered desk. My hand had been poised over the sheet for what felt like days, and all that covered it was scribbles and irrelevant doodles. It was honestly just a wonder I wasn't sleeping right now. I knew I was tired, yet every time I closed my eyes, my brain kept racing ahead, and stirring up thoughts that I had spent my waking hours going over dozens of times.  
The chair loudly scraped against the floor as I shoved away from the overflowing desk. I was frustrated with what I thought I was overlooking. Either that or I was genuinely not picking up on something. It was just that every time I reviewed the notes I felt like I was overlooking something and I tried to turn my brain off, but then it would touch base with a bunch of angles I had already worked at and my head became a buzzing hive of activity once again. It wasn't even the case that was frustrating me anymore, it was myself. It was just a shame I couldn't get away from myself.  
I started running my fingers through my hair and stood, deciding I needed a nice, day long break. Before exiting my room, I turned off the small brass lamp that on the surprisingly empty corner of my desk.  
Abaroa glanced up from the book he had been reading as I approached the living room and smiled slightly. He had been doing it a lot lately, but I figured it was just his way of silently encouraging me, since there wasn't anything I'd let him do. "What's going on Gus?"  
He slightly tipped his head to one side as I casually replied, "Nothing much I guess, just going for a walk."  
Abaroa's eyes widened slightly and he leaned forward a bit, making it look like he was going to get up. "It's pouring out!"  
I shrugged slightly, not really caring what happened anymore. "So?"  
"You'll get sick or something." Being laid up in bed a couple days would probably help me catch up on my sleep anyway and show me just how much that kid could get done by himself. With my dumb luck I wouldn't get sick anyway, I'd probably just wind up coming home, dripping water all over the floor and get fussed over by Abaroa.  
I placed my hand on the warm doorknob and shrugged again, glancing back at Abaroa before opening the door. I took the first step out into the hall and heard him calling after me, "Wait, at least put a coat on!"  
I closed the door back and leaned against the weathered wood. Light green paint chipped off and fell to the worn carpet below as I listened to the rain relentlessly pound against the roof.  
Wandering down the same dingy hall I had countless times, I found myself not really noticing anything, even after I was standing out on the front porch. It was like there was this fog surrounding me; preventing me from noticing anything about my surroundings, not matter how insignificant it might be.  
The uneven streets and anything else that wasn't covered over were assaulted by the large drops of icy water. There wasn't a soul out on the drenched streets; every living thing had sought shelter away from the undesirable weather a long time ago. As I roamed down the street, sloshing through puddles, not once did it occur to me that I should take the advice of everyone and head back inside.  
Despite being drenched, I didn't feel cold, and for the first time in weeks my head was empty. It was refreshing to not have thought constantly whirring around and having to nitpick with everything that surrounded me. I could just walk along and let the rain wash over me without a care in the world. It was just me and the water out here.

~***~ Light green paint chipped off the ancient door and fluttered to the carpet below when I knocked on it. Briefly looking around the dimly lit hallway I found myself wondering why I was even bothering. There wasn't any point in making amends, since I was more than capable of figuring out this whole thing out on my own. Filling in the blanks was just taking a lot longer than it normally would.  
There was some shifting around from inside the apartment before the door was opened and Abaroa stood before me. He opened the door wider, and motioned for me to enter, before closing the door back behind me.  
I moved away from the door and blinked a few times in the sudden brightness, waiting for my eye to adjust. He helped me with my coat, and hung it up on the coatrack nearby. "This rain came out of nowhere didn't it?" I nodded in silent agreement, before he added, "Gus isn't here; he went out for a walk."  
For some reason, I found myself a bit disappointed with Gus' sudden lack of presence. Once I processed the fact that he was actually outside in this I wondered if he was okay. Closing my eyes briefly, I quickly dispelled the thought and skeptically asked, "In this?"  
Abaroa nodded sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. He acted like it was his fault his superior was always wandering off and was doing something stupid. "He was in ones of his moods, and I don't think he would have stayed even if I asked him to."  
Shaking my head, I thought to myself, he's going to get sick; a grown man should know better than to be outside in weather like this. Abaroa offered me a nearby chair, and sat down across from me. This whole afternoon is going to be a waste if Sebastian can't turn up anything.  
A kettle started to whistle in the kitchen shortly after we had run out of small talk, and Abaroa glanced in its general direction. "Why don't you have some tea before you go? It's the least I can do for you."  
"Alright," Abaroa stood and rushed off to the kitchen. The kettle ceased its infernal screaming and the room was filled with the pattering sounds of large drops of water assaulting the window panes. At times it seemed like nothing more than a background noise, but then the wind would kick up and the sound would increase to a seemingly deafening volume.  
I don't know when I had started, but I found myself running my fingers through my hair. After the fact, I quickly stopped, not wanting to make a habit of it, and sighed softly. However shortly after I had found myself doing it again; this is all Gus' fault, I hope he does get sick so I won't have to listen to all his snarky comments. I smiled slightly at the prospect of him getting sick from his own stupidity. Even then he'd probably still be striving to solve the case before I did. It was inspirational in a meek sort of way.  
A pot clattered to the tiled floor in the kitchen, followed by a lengthy pause before something else fell. Why do I get the feeling that this happens a lot more than it should?  
Silence stretched on filled with the sound of rain pattering against the window again. Despite the constant banging coming from the kitchen from dropped pots or what have you, I still felt a bit lonely. The emptiness in the roomed seemed to resonate with the presented atmosphere, making the background noise coming from the kitchen nothing more than an illusion.  
I jumped when Abaroa set a small tray on the table, and stopped working my fingers through my hair, forcing myself out of whatever self-induced trance I was under. "Sorry it took so long, I'm still learning my way around the kitchen."  
I shrugged slightly, quickly recovering myself, "It's no big deal, I don't mind."  
While handing me a dark blue mug, Abaroa slowly asked, "If you don't mind my asking, have you managed to find any new leads."  
Shaking my head, I replied, "Nothing profound, we've just been chasing down a bunch of rumors at this point." Some of the rumors had actually proven to be quite useful, but it was just a matter of finding that one missing link at this point; it was just proving to be a lot more difficult than it normally would be.

A silence stretched on after the subject had been dropped and the room was filled with the sound of the inclement weather once again. Abaroa glanced at me several times over the rim of his mug, and it seemed like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Several times it seemed like he came close, after having taken a deep breath, but then faltered. I pretended not to notice, a thing so it continued on like this.  
Just when the whole thing was starting to tweak a nerve he finally spoke. "This probably isn't any of my business, but I figured you might want to know that  
He trailed off for a bit, having lost his nerve. Suppressing a sigh, I arched one of my eyebrows in silent encouragement. Just when I was about to confront the whole thing head on, Abaroa finally continued. "I don't really know how to put this, but Gus does care about you; even if he doesn't show it. I don't know what specifically happened between you two, but I suggest at least being civil. I mean after the party he chewed me out for whatever had happened I don't think I've ever seen him so worked up."  
The comment caught me off guard, and for a few seconds I wondered if he was expecting some sort of emotional reaction. If he was, he certainly wasn't going to get one. It didn't matter what he felt because I refused to get overly invested in someone I barely considered to be my friend. I didn't care, and neither should he. I didn't want sympathy from some middle aged man. The mere implication of such a thing was absurd and off putting. The whole thing was probably spawned from his underlying need to fix things. "That's nice to know, but I don't need people taking pity on me."  
Abaroa nonchalantly shrugged while taking a sip from his mug. "I didn't mean anything by it, I just figured you would like to know; most people usually like to find out stuff like this."  
I shook my head slightly, but didn't offer up any verbal response, not really wanting to open that can of worms. I never understood why people had an incessant need to know about the feeling of others. They were just a hindrance, especially since when people were trying to 'support and protect' you. It's all nonsense; the only person who can protect you is you.  
The wind picked up in correspondence with the door bursting open. Starting, I placed my mug on the table and glanced behind me to see who was making such a fuss. The door closed back and shortly after Gus took up a place behind me. Cold water dripped onto my head, followed by even colder fingers working their way through my hair. A shiver ran down my spine as Gus enthusiastically asked, "It's been awhile kid, what brings you here on this lovely day?"  
Water continued to drip into my hair, after Gus decided to rest his cold hand on my head, and he didn't move it when I attempted to swat it away. Abaroa let out an exasperated sigh, before firmly stating, "You'll get him stick too! Not go put some dry clothes on, because I know you aren't going to be the one to clean up all this water."  
Gus finally removed his hand from my head, and I could tell he rolled his eyes, but he complied with what he had been asked to do. However Gus wasn't going to do things without causing some sort of trouble. He stripped off his soaked shirt and dropped it into Abaroa's lap on the way by, before he disappeared down the hallway.  
Abaroa lifted the wet lump of fabric off of his person and headed down the same hallway. Running my fingers through my damp hair, I took a few deep breaths to quell my somewhat shaken nerves.  
No sooner had I dropped my hand, that a warm towel was draped over me. Gus vigorously rubbed the thick cloth over my hair for several seconds, before whipped it off and smiled down at me. "Hi kid."  
Closing my eyes, I tried to reorient myself before slowly asking, "What are you doing?"  
The obnoxious smirk stayed where it was as Gus continued to stare down at me from his place behind the chair. "I'm simply cleaning up after myself, is that a problem?"  
Sighing irritably, I quickly replied, "Yes, because I don't want you touching me."  
He rested his hand on top of my head and slowly worked his fingers through my hair, "You mean like this?"  
I closed my eyes and ignored that fact that the action didn't really bother me as much as it would have if someone else was doing it. "Yes, exactally like this."  
"Why?"  
I moved my head slightly, in attempts to get his hand off of my head, but Gus only moved and continued. "There are a variety of things people don't like and I don't like being touched."  
Gus moved his hand poked the soft skin on my cheek, "Why?"  
Sharply exhaling I changed the subject. "Are you a child? If you are I shall proceed to treat you like one."  
Gus finally allowed me to have my personal space back, and flopped down on the couch, "sheesh kid relax. If we are going to talk about age you certainly don't act yours. You're what? Ten?"  
Clenching my jaw I slowly replied, "I'll be fifteen in December."  
A silence fell across the room, and it only further tested my patience. I can't be that short and child-like I've grown four inches. I shouldn't have to be tall and not have a round face for people to get my age right.  
Gus finally shrugged and commented, "Don't get your coattails in a bunch, some girls are into that."  
I shook my head slightly, but didn't really say anything. This particular conversation had gotten to me, but I just wished I knew why. People were always calling me short and mistaking me for a child, so why did it coming from Gus bother me so much. I began working my fingers through my hair again and I noticed Gus smile. "Don't feel bad kid, you're going to grow up at some point, it just isn't your time." I shrugged and pretended not to care, then he added, "You never did tell me why you came here; I gathered we still weren't on speaking terms."  
"Oh yes." I paused before slowly continuing on, "I just came to see if you had any new leads for our case."  
Gus arched an eyebrow, "Oh, so it's our case now?"  
An impish grin worked its way onto his face as I explained, "It has always been our case, we were just approaching things from different perspectives for a brief period of time without having to constantly look over the latters shoulder." Gus shifted slightly from where he was lounging, but didn't say anything. I took his sudden silence as him not having accomplished anything profound in our time apart. You would think that he'd be better at producing results since he keeps insisting on doing things his way.  
A silence formed, and stretched on for what seemed like hours. It was eerie though, since Gus had never been thing quiet before; even when he was thinking about something. He glanced over at me for several seconds seeming to be contemplating something, before finally asking, "Just what are you still trying to find?"  
I shifted into a more comfortable position before finally realizing he had finally come to terms with this whole thing. I tried not to smile as I came up with an answer; he acted like the whole thing was a delicate subject. "Sebastian told me that Raziela is, in fact, the one who is behind these crimes. She refuses to stand down though, or even acknowledge that she's doing something wrong. There also isn't anyway we'll able to do any real snooping since she rarely leaves the house. At this point all there is to do is make sure the mark her demon has corresponds with the one found at the crime scene. Since she has entered a contract with Lahash his mark will be somewhere on her body, and that links her to everything as well. We're still trying to figure out who has her brainwashed though since we might as well hit two birds with one stone."

Gus shifted, slightly before stating, "All you have to do is narrow it down to all the religious groups based in the region, then sift out all the ones that don't deal with whatever religion she's claiming to follow."  
I rolled my eyes, "You make it sound like that's easy."  
Gus glanced over and quickly replied, "It is when you know about cults."  
Sighing, I ran my fingers through my hair and countered, "Yes but we may not even be dealing with a group, for all we know it could be just one person."  
"If that's the case then he's probably dead," he bluntly pointed out.  
The comment caught me a bit off guard, especially since he didn't seem to be that observant, and insightful. I found myself slightly doubting his logic. "What are you getting at?"  
Gus sighed softly, before going into this convoluted explanation. "Even if he was one person, he was physically and, probably, emotionally as well. Add in the religious aspect and being brought there at a young age and she'd be terrified of leaving, since she hasn't know anything most of her life and the prominent threat of more abuse. If she contracted that demon while she was there she probably had her captor killed; there's also the possibility that he died of natural causes and she was all alone when she sold her soul."  
This does make a lot of sense, but it doesn't really correspond with common happening of religious groups. It was a possibility, but it was highly unlikely. There was still the fact that there were still a lot of groups that fell into the right categories. Gus the offered, "I can do some digging if you want; I'm usually pretty good with this kind of stuff."  
I nodded slightly, more than happy to have one less thing to do. "By all means, be my guest."  
Gus watched Abaroa pass by before moving into a sitting position, before hesitantly asking, "So when is your babysitter coming for you?"  
I glanced at the coo-coo clock perched on top of the mantel place, before stating, "Anytime now."  
Gus nodded slightly, staring down at the floor. I could have sworn there was a hint of sadness reflected back in his dark brown eyes, but I didn't really want to think much of it. Rolling my eyes at his sudden silence, I thought glumly to myself, this is how it all starts out Gus quickly shifted out of his sudden bad mood and happily replied, "Well we better have you ready then. If I don't return you in the same, or better, condition that I got you in you won't be allowed to come over anymore."  
He tousled my hair as he passed by to retrieve my coat and I frowned slightly. I sighed softly and shook my head. Once again I'm being treated like a child.  
Gus dropped my coat on my head and settled himself in the chair next to me, "Ciel get to be a big boy and put his coat on all by himself!"  
He met my irritated glare with and impish smirk and continued to call out unnecessary encouragement while I put on the dark colored article of clothing on. I was down to the last few buttons when I had finally had enough. "Will you stop?!"  
"Why?" Gus rose from his chair and stood in front of me.  
Staring up at him I flatly replied, "You're being annoying."  
He finished doing my buttons as I was about to go back to them and tousled my hair after he had finished, "There you go kid."  
I ran my fingers through my hair in attempts to fix it while firmly replying, "Stop."  
"Why?"  
Taking a deep breath, I slowly replied, "Didn't we just go through this?"  
Gus shrugged and changed the topic by giving me a cookie from the tray. He patted my head and said, "Here, now I can say a few things to you."  
Sighing I took a small bite from the cookie to make him leave me alone. I settled back in the chair and got a cheeky smile from Gus as I had finished it, but he didn't say anything. I kept an eye on him, wondering what he was up to.  
There was a knock on the door and Abaroa came rushing in to answer it, since Gus didn't even make the slightest inclination that he was going to do it. I heard Sebastian's voice form out in the hallway telling Abaroa, "I have come to collect my young master."  
Abaroa took a step backwards and opened the door wider, telling me Sebastian was here. I was already standing, and heading towards the door, but Gus wasn't done fooling around like the man-child he was. Gus came up behind me and took me into his arms. I squirmed around and demanded to be put down, but he didn't comply, and instead placed me in Sebastian's waiting arms.  
He smiled down at me briefly before ignoring my protests while Gus enthusiastically stated, "Here you go, all safe and sound; we even fed him for you."  
I let out an irritated huff and pouting, firmly demanding to be put down, before Sebastian replied, "Thank you for taking such good care of my young master. I hope he hasn't caused you too much trouble."  
Abaroa had settled himself in a nearby chair and loudly commented, "Gus is the only one who is too much trouble; Ciel is a saint compared to him."  
An impish smirk worked its way onto Gus' face, but he didn't say anything in objection. "Be careful on the stairs; I'll be seeing you guys around."  
Sebastian nodded slightly, before heading off down the stairs and not letting me walk by myself. I knew it was pointless to argue back, so I just let him do what he wanted. "Did you find out anything?"  
A slight nod was the only hopeful response I received, then Sebastian replied, "Its best we discuss such things behind closed doors."  
I nodded slightly in agreement as he stepped outside and carried me to the waiting carriage.

After leafing through another dusty tome, I tossed it aside, having found nothing of any substantial value contained within the brittle pages. Great, I managed to find another useless book, I sarcastically thought to myself as I leaned back in the rickety wooden chair. Shaking my head slightly, I glanced around the almost empty police library. Some guys on break were playing cards in the corner and some new trainee had been stuck with the job of 'librarian'.  
Sighing softly, I stood and wandered back to the bookcase I had removed the large volume from. I still can't find anything; there has to be a better one to take than this.  
Despite having exhausted the 'vast' collection of books on the related subject matter, I roamed around the dim room and perused the shelves. At this point I was really looking for anything that would be remotely relevant to the topic. It was pretty hard to read anything on the book binding though, so instead of ruining my eyes to look for something that wouldn't be there, I went back to just wandering around for a bit.  
After having made my way up and down every aisle in the large room, I deemed the whole thing useless and headed back towards the front door. I had just wasted the whole morning and figured some obscure bookstore would be able to come to my aid. The hunch was a shot in the dark but it was better than nothing. Not to mention it was a better option than going home to do nothing.  
The streets were unusually active after the rain, and it was a nice change of pace from yesterday. Everything wasn't as lonely and barren as they had been.  
Wandering along the bustling streets, I didn't really pay attention to my surroundings. Yesterday I had managed to come across some strange little shopped tucked away somewhere. It might have been useful if I was able to find it again. It would prove to be a challenge though since I wasn't even trying to find it the first time, I just came across it while wandering around; much like I was doing now.  
Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I turned left and made my way down some back alley. I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting to find, but it just seemed to be some convoluted short cut that I was coming up with as I went along.

As I tried to pay attention to my surroundings so I could find my way back, I found some things looking familiar, but then I would turn a corner and feel completely lost. The fact that at some point yesterday I could barely see two feet in front of me wasn't really a comforting through either. I'm just better off going back the way I came Even as I thought it I knew I wouldn't comply with my rationality. That little okay large stubborn part of me refused to let me go back empty handed. The fact that there was nothing to do back home still hadn't changed either. Everything piling up on my desk had frustrated me and I wouldn't have remotely enough patience to deal with the tedious task of cleaning them all up.  
Looking around again, I turned left on a hunch and once again the surroundings started to look semi-familiar; I was just banking on them staying that way. Getting back on my own was definitely going to prove to be an interesting task on its own.  
Taking another left I came across what seemed to be another dead end, and I was about to turn around when I realized it wasn't. My joy briefly overflowed as I recognized the dark colored wooden door surrounded by dark colored stained glass.  
Continuing along the glass strewn alley, I briefly paused in front of the door. Taking a deep breath I placed my hand on the cold brass and pulled the heavy door open. A silver bell tinkled overhead, subtly announcing my arrival.  
There didn't appear to be anybody in here other than a strangely dressed girl, who was looking at small gargoyle statue, and the man I had seen her yesterday, and assumed to be the owner.  
The girl glanced up briefly, and studied me with her bright green eyes, before wandering off to a different part of the shop.  
The owner glanced up and smiled slightly, "Welcome back, I didn't think I'd see you again in here."  
I shrugged slightly, not really sure how I was supposed to take the comment, "I just figured I might poke around a bit more."  
The owner looked me up and down with his unnaturally bright blue eyes, "Is there anything in particular that I might be able to interest you in?"  
I shrugged again, stuffing my hands back in the pockets of my trench coat, "just a book."  
He leaned against the dimly lit display case and brushed aside some of his long black hair. He tapped one of his long alternating black and red nails on the glass. The tapping was like a metronome, marking off the seconds in the background while he asked, "What kind I book? I do have lots of them."  
The girl from before came forward from the recesses of the dim room carrying a sword that was a little bigger than she was. In fact, I was surprised she was handling the large object so well since it must have weighed a lot. The blade was black, and the handle must have been made out of some sort of crystal since the candle light from the metal chandelier overhead was refracted a bunch of times.  
The owner shifted his attention to the girl by asking, "Yes, child?"  
The girl glanced at me and asked, "I don't want to interrupt or anything."  
"It's quite all right."  
The girl shrugged and held up the sword, "How much?"  
He looked the girl up and down, before chuckling softly, resuming his tapping on the glass, "You won't be able to use that."  
The girl glared at him and pouted, "If you must know, it's not even for me. It's for my 'keeper' or whatever title he has."  
He shrugged again, "So long as you aren't the one using it."  
Letting out an irritated huff, the girl glared at him, "I'm not, besides I haven't settled on a weapon of choice yet. It has to be something a lot less common that a sword. Now answer my question. Please."  
The owner leaned forward on the glass and rested his head on his hand, still tapping away, "Six fifty."  
The girl shrugged as the owner glanced at her, not seeming to really care. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the money before heading out, telling him to keep the change. The owner told her to come back and she sighed, before slowly turning.  
He briefly retired to the back room before returning with an ornately decorated silver sheath. "He's going to need this too, besides you don't want to expose the blade to the elements."  
The owner smiled impishly while the girl looked very unamused, bluntly stating, "It's a sword." Never the less, she thanked him for it on her way out. The bell tinkled once more, followed by the door slamming shut.  
He muttered something I couldn't quite make out before straightening up and saying, "I'm Ayberk by the way, welcome to me store."  
I arched one of my eye brows and replied, "It's a little late for introductions don't you think?"  
Ayberk smiled slightly, "It's never too late to learn someone's name."  
Shrugging slightly, I replied, "I'm Gus."  
Ayberk started tapping the glass again and replied, "You never did answer my question. What kind of book are you inquiring about?"  
There was a brief pause, where I tried to come up with a coherent answer, but there really wasn't one. If there were, my words just weren't flowing properly. "I don't really know, I just figured I'd be able to find it here."  
Ayberk interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on them, "What gives you that feeling?" He tipped his head slightly to one side as I threw a glance around the atmospheric shop. He laughed softy, a deep raspy sound, before straightening slightly and running one of his red nails in a circular motion around the glass. I was surprised scratches didn't for in the thin material. "Well you felt right, I do, in fact, believe I have something that will help you well two somethings. Wait here."  
He left to go looking through the back room, so to occupy myself I studied the contents of the glass case he had been leaning on. They were mostly decorative rings, and few of which had an extensive network of chains attached, but there were also a few bulky necklaces. Most of the stuff in here seemed to Gothic and outlandish to even fit in with anything people would normally even consider wearing, but I guess that would be the appeal to all this stuff.  
The most out of place thing in the case was a silver dagger with a dragon carved onto the handle. There were some small characters carved into the blade, but I didn't know where exactally they were from.  
Ayberk came back carrying two thick books and place them on the counter in front of me. The binding of the bottom one seemed to be covered in dark green velvet while the top one was bulky and covered in buckles and straps. "I do have one request before I entrust these into your care."  
"What is it?"  
Ayberk paused, seeming to be looking for the right words before continuing, "These volumes have yet to be completed, so they need to be brought back, but don't let that discourage you. The information contained within these pages far surpasses that of anything a mere mortal could ever hope to come up with. I just request you keep them in good condition and be wary of those with prying eyes."  
I nodded slightly, "Seems easy enough."  
Ayberk produced a cloth sack and placed the books in them, "That's good."  
He pushed the bag towards me while I asked, "When do I have to return these by?"  
There was a long pause, and Ayberk shrugged, before replying, "Whenever you don't need them anymore, so long as you bring them back within a reasonable time frame. I would hate very much to have to come and retrieve them, I get such strange looks when I go out in public, although I can't imagine why "  
I took in his bright blue eyes, shoulder length black hair and somewhat skeletal appearance but didn't say anything and just shrugged. "These days everyone is suspicious of everyone."  
"Well humans in particular are a very suspicious creature; it's quite fascinating to witness what they are capable when enveloped in one of their boughs of paranoia."  
I blinked a couple times, caught off guard by the underlying morbidity of the comment, "Uh "  
Ayberk smiled and something sinister reflected back in his eyes, "Well it had been fun, but I trust you would like to get back to human society. I shall see you around."  
I nodded slightly, still a bit confused at the turn this conversation had taken. "Uh, right; I'll see you around." I grabbed the bag and made my way out, not wanting to seem too eager to get back out side. The bell tinkled again to announce my departure from the creepy little shop. I glanced up at the sky as I made my way back down the alley and noted the pink-orange tint it had received form the setting sun. I didn't think I was in there that long.  
Sighing softly I continued to attempt to find my way out of this giant maze, feeling exhausted. I kind of wanted to know what I had done that was so draining, I mean even after sloshing around in the rain most of the day hadn't left me this tired. Rubbing my eyes with my free hand I decided to take a nap when I got back home.

Stuffing my hands into my pockets in feeble attempts to keep them warm, I glanced up and down the empty street, wondering how I let myself get involved in this whole thing. I glanced at Ciel who was standing off to my left and asked, "Remind me why I'm here again?"  
Ciel sighed softly before stating the obvious, "We are doing surveillance."  
After shifting my weight, I suppressed a sigh and changed the wording of my question, "I had to come because?"  
"I don't feel like having to update you if anything significant happens; besides you live nearby and are obligated to come." Resting my back against the brick wall, I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, still tired from my very brief nap. I was hoping nothing happened anytime soon, but with my luck the second I fell asleep I'd be woken up by something. I should have stayed home.  
I would give the kid that things seemed to be unusually quiet; but it could have been from a brewing storm I failed to notice. Rain wasn't really that uncommon given the time of year.  
A relatively strong breeze kicked up, but it petered out just as quickly. Ciel nudged me shortly after, in an attempt to keep me engaged. Opening my eyes, I glanced down at him and arched an eyebrow, before tousling his hair. The action earner an irritated glare, and he took a couple steps away from me, but I didn't really mind. As the quiet stretched on and the street stayed empty, I found myself what we were supposed to be surveying in the first place.  
There was some figure was down on the other end of the street making his way forward by jumping from rooftop to rooftop. I was the only on to notice because Ciel stared at it for a few seconds before closing his eye briefly and stating, "Sebastian."  
Sebastian bowed slightly, before easily jumping across the street. I found myself staring stupidly for several second trying to comprehend everything. I mean I told myself I'd pretend to buy into the whole thing, but that was just crazy. This whole thing is crazy and I must have been crazy for allowing myself to buy into it. I'm going to need a nice, long vacation after this is over and done with.  
It was a matter of minutes until Sebastian came back, seeming somewhat amused as he dropped this bloody young man on the sidewalk in front of Ciel. Normally something would be telling me to help him at the sight of all this blood, but some little voice in the back of my mind was telling me he was fine. It was a weird feeling and I honestly didn't know where it was coming from either. The man ground briefly curled up into a little ball, muttering something in a different language. Sebastian sharply said something in the same language and forced him onto his back.  
I could make out some claw marks in his blood stained shirt, but it seemed like they had already stopped bleeding. The young man glared up at Sebastian and stated, "No need to be so rough. Damn dogs already got to me; I'm not up for another fight." He had a slight accent, but I couldn't quite locate where it was from, since it didn't seem to be from the usual bunch. He slowly sat up and brushed some black hair away from his face, "What?"  
Sebastian glanced at Ciel, who nodded slightly to give him permission to proceed, before asking, "What do you know?"  
"You couldn't have just stopped at my place of residence?" The young man shook his head slightly while sitting up, "Not much really I don't ask too many questions when it comes to mercury. At least when you finally poisoned yourself to death you're seeing rainbows, fairies and all that other stuff."  
Sebastian glared down at him, bluntly replying, "Now you know that's not what I mean."  
He sighed before smirking impishly, "I don't go near churches either; especially the creepy ones made out of stained glass and are out in the middle of nowhere. Crosses and Holy Water aren't really a good combination for me. They are perfect for intensely religious sociopaths though." He shifted slightly and sat cross legged, throwing a glance back at Ciel during the process. "I'd keep an eye on that kid of yours too." He slowly rose from the ground, straightening to his full height. "That's just me though," he shrugged slightly and glanced down the street. "Can I go now? I have places to be and you probably have people to find, stalk, and inevitably murder.  
Ciel nodded slightly when Sebastian glanced back at him, and Sebastian added something in the language from before. The young man rolled his eyes and started walking away, "You know where I am, just go there next time, it's more civil that way. Isn't that what this country is known for?"  
After a few seconds, Ciel glanced up at me and adjusted the collar on his coat, "I'll see you around."  
Despite my prickling irritation at the fact that I just wasted my time out here, I nodded and managed a civil response, "Yeah, see you." I watched him walk away with Sebastian for a couple seconds, before turning and heading in the opposite direction. The cold air swirled around me as the wind picked up again.  
Some part of me was hoping that they didn't run off and so something without letting me know. I mean I knew I did a lot of stupid things that went unchecked but it just seemed wrong letting a kid charge off and do something stupid without the consent of a human adult. I really didn't count Sebastian's permission as too restricting since he did everything that kid told him to do.  
Granted my dumb luck had yet to run out and a lot of the seemingly stupid things I do turn out to actually be productive in their own convoluted and unexplainable way. I also may not be able to do any of those things again no matter how hard I tried so I liked to consider them personal victories.  
Some other part of me chimed in saying that Ciel wasn't a kid anymore, but I still thought of him as one. Sure it seemed like he went through some stuff hell he was going through things now but he was still just a kid, stuck playing adult out of convenience.


	8. Chapter 8

The large grandfather clock in the corner of the room ticked off the seconds with each swing of its golden pendulum. Sunlight filtered in through the large picture window to my left; casting a large square of light onto the dark blue carpet.  
Since Ciel had been busy seeing some blonde girl off when I arrived, I wasn't expecting him to join me anytime soon. I didn't really mind though since it gave me an opportunity to get settled, collect my thoughts, and relax a bit before having to get back to business. For the past couple of days we had been off doing our own thing, well Ciel had, I couldn't quite remember what I had done. Whatever it was it was obviously very unproductive since I couldn't even remember what I had been doing although I barely remembered this morning.  
Shrugging to myself I shifted slightly in my chair, before returning to staring out the window, happy that Ciel was at least including me in this whole thing. Regardless, I would have found a way to get involved whether he liked it or not, but him inviting me here just cut out the leg work. At least I thought that's what he wanted me here for. I was highly doubting he only wanted me over for tea, we weren't that buddy, buddy.  
Now I could maybe get a feel for what he was planning and make sure he wasn't going to do anything potentially dangerous. Sebastian didn't seem like the type to let such a thing happen, but Ciel seemed to be sneaky in his own way. I didn't think I would be able to forgive myself if he was to get hurt while working this case, sure he was almost an adult, but he didn't look like one and that made him an easy target.  
Cold air cast aside the mesh curtains and slowly began taking up residence in the room via the open windows. The rustling of the green leaves on the nearby trees accompanied the sudden phenomena, but it slowly died off along with the breeze. The weather had gone back to being moderately warm, which was a good thing since I had been out and about a lot recently there was also the fact that if it was pouring, or looked like it would, I wouldn't have even bothered coming all the way out here today.  
The door suddenly opening startled me a bit, but I quickly regained my composure and calmed my somewhat shaky nerves as Ciel settled himself in the chair across from me. It came as a shock that Sebastian wasn't with him, not that I was complaining. The butler probably had better things to be doing, but some part of me still believed he didn't trust me around Ciel by myself.  
Leaning back against the soft fabric of the plushy chair to get more comfortable, I eagerly anticipated what was going to come next. Ciel glanced out the window briefly, seeming to think something over before asking, "I need you to do something for me."  
Arching one of my eyebrows inquisitively, I leaned forward slightly and asked, "Just what might this something consist of?"  
Ciel shifted in his chair, nonchalantly replying, "I need you to snoop around a certain house while a particular blonde girl isn't there. Since, I so politely declined her invitation to tea the other day, it only seemed natural that I would want to make up things by extending a similar invitation to her. I assumed correct in thinking Raziela would be more than happy to accept the invitation, and since she is bound to drag Lahash along with her since Sebastian has a very prominent presence here.  
That would make a prime opportunity if someone wished to go take a look around her not so humble abode to see just what skeletons might be hiding in her closets. Who knows? Some of those skeletons might just prove to be useful. Normally I would just send Sebastian to take care of such errands, but it would seem very suspicious if he was to suddenly not be here. For obvious reasons I don't want to draw any extra attention to myself, so that leaves you to take care of things."  
Against my better judgment, I found myself nodding in agreement. It was nice to know I was needed for something Ciel seemed to consider trivial, but in all honesty I felt better about doing this myself then forcing it off onto someone else; even if I was openly decided to be used as a last resort. At least I was the one doing something stupid and possibly dangerous instead of Ciel. It would also be nice to get everything first hand and experience it myself, instead of getting the details relayed to me at a later date. I felt Ciel would purposely leave out things that he thought he could handle on his own anyway "Alright that seems simple enough."  
Ciel nodded slightly, "She is coming for afternoon tea and factoring in travel time, you probably have until about four, give or take since we have to factor how long we can make pleasant conversation with each other. Once finished there, come straight over, it'll give us a chance to talk since she'll more than likely leave."  
I nodded again before rising from the chair. "Don't worry kid, I can handle this by myself; just you wait." I tousled his soft hair reassuringly on my way by, heading towards the door.  
As I placed my hand on the warm metal I heard him sigh softly, and say something along the lines of, "I sincerely hope so." Smiling, I shook my head slightly as I stepped out into the hall. I was a lot more excited than I should have been when presented with the task of breaking and entering; but I was also a lot more motivated since Ciel doubted me. Now I'm going to have to prove this kid wrong.

~***~ Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I made my way towards the sprawling gothic styled manor that I had been in one a short couple weeks ago. Before placing my hand on the brass doorknob, I threw a slightly hesitant glance into the surrounding forest. The heavy door had been left unlocked, although when you lived this far away from the city there wasn't really much chance of you getting efficiently robbed.  
Briefly pausing in the colorfully lit foyer, I decided I'd have better luck if I checked upstairs. Quickly bypassing the small gargoyle that sat atop the banister, I ascended the wooden stairs. Once on the landing, I looked down each of the three hallways and tried to figure out which way would be the best. The left and right paths probably looped around to form a circle, so I figured straight would be the best option since it most likely led straight through to the back of the house.  
As I made my way down the dimly lit hallway, I glanced at some of the doors, not bothering to take the time necessary to check inside every single room. If I was assuming correctly all these rooms were probably guest rooms and assorted parlors and sitting rooms rather than something that would be more useful. Rooms like that tended to be towards the front of the house so guests were less likely to get lost when left to their own devices.  
My footsteps softly echoed off around the somewhat enclosed space, making me feel a bit paranoid since it gave the effect that I was being followed. The grotesque painting that hung on the walls wasn't really helping me either. This place is beyond disturbing.  
A chill ran down my spine as I caught sight of another one of the paintings and I quickly dropped my gaze to the dark red carpet. I could feel eyes burning holes into the back of my head and found myself glancing backwards every couple feet. I don't really know what I was expecting to see, but relief washed over me every time I found nothing there. Get a grip, there isn't anybody else here.

Nearing the end of the hall, I blinked in the sudden brightness since the outward facing wall was covered in windows. Glancing down both of the corridors I struggled to figure out which direction I should go in next. There was an ominous, somewhat foreboding sensation coming from my right. I couldn't tell where it was coming from, but I felt like it was pulling me in that direction. Slowly venturing in the general direction most people would have avoided in such a situation, I thought to myself, I really need to develop a sense of danger. The whole thing was probably spawned for my stubbornly refusing to blindly believing in something that I could have tangible evidence of.  
More paintings hung on the wall, bathed in the natural light that streamed in through the windows that lines the corridor. They didn't seem as realistic as the had in the precious hallway; like the light made them seem more like the works of fiction they were or I wanted them to be. In light of it, this hallway had a different atmosphere than the precious one.  
Continuing down the long hallway, I tried to find anything that would set some of the doors apart from the others. Just outside a set of large double doors, there was a large, out of place painting of a scraggly tree. Icicles hung from the lower branches while pink flowers and bright green leaves inhabited the upper ones closer to the cloudy blue sky. Assorted red, orange and yellow leaves covered the ground, and finalized the complex representation of the four seasons. It just reminded me of why I didn't like art; everybody was always trying to find some hidden meaning in things. Why can't a picture of a wilted flower be just that; a wilted flower instead of the death of the current, whatever?  
Ignoring the tree painting I decided the room it was next to would provide something promising. Pressing down on the larger, silver handle, one of the doors swung back into a large library. The floor in the center of the room dropped down into a sitting area, occupied by a long coffee table, a few arm chairs and a couch. On the other side of the room there was a large stained glass window perched behind an empty desk.  
Ignoring the vast collection of volumes neatly collected into the shelves that lined the walls, I went straight for the desk, deciding it the best approach to take for now. None of the seven drawers had been locked, but there wasn't really reason for them to be since they contained nothing interesting. The papers contained within were mostly receipts and deeds, along with the blank stationary contained within the top, middle drawer. All of it proved to be useless.  
Closing the last drawer I had opened back, I let out a soft sigh, before wandering back out. I took the time to skim the titles of some of the books, and they all varied from subject matter, although I didn't understand some of them since they weren't in English.  
The door to the library softly clicked shut behind me, and I decided to try my luck with some other areas down this hall. I still had at least an hour before I needed to think about leaving and I wanted to leave as little stones unturned as possible.

I glanced over at the clock hanging on the wall before smiling slightly to myself. Sebastian's cakes certainly serve as a wonderful distraction from things. Lahash leaned over the back of Raziela's chair and started to fuss over her, making it seemed like he cared about her well being. It obviously wasn't the case though, because no matter how caring he acted malice continued to reflect back from his gleaming black eyes. The only thing he wanted to do was create chaos and destruction, no matter who he killed in the process. It was no doubt that she didn't notice this either. Given her nature I would never even consider her the type to sell her soul. The whole thing doesn't make any sense.  
Raziela finally got Lahash to leave her alone and smiled slightly met meeting my gaze. There was a brief pause before she asked, "Is it hard to run a business?"  
A silence fell over the room as I contemplated the answer, not quite sure what she was asking. "At times, namely around the holidays, but it not much more than doing paperwork and approving the new products." She nodded slightly, seeming to contemplate something. Not quite ready to let the subject drop, I asked, "Might I ask where this is coming from all of the sudden?"  
She seemed a bit hesitant to respond at first, then again she could have just been figuring out what she was going to say. Eventually she explained, "The orphanage my church runs hasn't be doing very well lately, and since we don't want to force all the children out into the streets or the poorhouse, we've been coming up with idea to earn extra income. I don't want to bore you with the specifics so I'll just say that that was one of the ideas."  
It's astounding the length these people will go to, in order to recruit new members, I almost feel sorry for those children. They just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, much like many victims of the underworld. That bad timing is what will cause their untimely demise.  
Throwing another glance at the clock, I found myself wondering just where Gus was. I told him to leave at four and he was supposed to come back over here afterwards. He better not still be poking around in there. There's always the possibility that he forgot, he is quite scatterbrained when it comes to following instructions.  
There was a soft knock on the door before Sebastian entered and bowed. "Pardon the interruption my lord, but I was wondering if your guests shall be dining with us this evening."  
Raziela's eye widened as she glanced at the clock behind her, and quickly replied, "I wouldn't want to impose; besides I already have dinner plans. I didn't realize how late it was getting."  
She slowly rose from her chair and came to stand in front of me, smiling, "Thank you for everything, this afternoon has been wonderful; feel free to stop by anytime."  
I nodded slightly, returning the gesture, "yes, it has; I might just have to take you up on that offer." Glancing towards Sebastian, I added, "Please show our guests out."  
Sebastian nodded, before bowing and leading the pair out into the hallway. I sighed softly as the door closed back; still trying to convince myself that he just forgot to come back. There's no way he'd stay there this long right?

Wandering down the dimly lit passage I had come across, I was still in the process of trying to find my way back out. It felt like I had been down here for days, but that wasn't really a solid measurement of time. I did know that I needed to get out soon though; odds are Raziela didn't even know this place was here, but I didn't want to risk finding a way out and have it just so happen be in one of the rooms she was in.  
The way I had come in closed itself off after I started down the stairs, leaving me with no choice but to continue forward. Despite the circumstance I had found a lot of strange markings and papers. I copied most of the stuff down, but some of it made no sense so I didn't even bother with it.  
There had been several chambers that I stumbled across, even a large cage. I didn't even want to think about what was probably kept in it though. Sighing softly, I took a left, looking for anything out of place in the stone walls that would suggest another hidden passage.

My footsteps echoed around the enclosed space multiple times, and I found myself constantly looking back to make sure someone wasn't really following me. Shadows danced in and out of my line of sight from the torches that lined the walls, eventually I would forget about them and grow jumpy. Then stop and spend some time looking around before managing to somewhat quell my shaky nerves. I hate this, I wish I never came down here; I should have just left. This was one of the times where my curiosity wasn't helping me. Having a need to know everything was going to be my downfall, I was just banking on nobody finding me down here.  
I sighed softly as I came across another dead end and settled myself onto the floor, trying to figure out what I should do next. All this constant roaming around wasn't going to help me, if anything I was just going to get more lost.  
The wall suddenly disappeared behind me and I fell backwards into a void, only to land on my back in sudden brightness. Sitting up slightly, I rubbed the back of my head and looked around, only to find Lahash glaring down at me.

After glancing over at the clock that hung on the wall, I sighed softly as I put away the small stack of papers I had been looking through. I still hadn't heard anything from Gus or Abaroa for that matter, so it probably meant it was safe to say Gus had managed to find his way home. Next time I'll just do this myself, I can't be bother with worrying about others and their inability to follow simple instructions.  
The door opened as I approached it, and revealed Sebastian standing in the hallway with a nervous looking Abaroa. "Pardon the interruption young master, but you have a guest."  
"It's fine." I stepped out into the hallway nervously running a hand through my hair, "What do you want."  
Abaroa stared down at the floor as if I was intimidating him, but it seemed like he was just trying to collect his thoughts. He glanced up and slowly began, "I know it's late and everything, and you're probably busy, but um I- is Gus here? I mean before he left this morning he said he was coming over here so I figured he might still be here?"  
Damn, I had a feeling something like this would happen; I better not go to recover his body or I'll never be able to come up with a proper explanation. Abaroa nervously bit his bottom lip as I ignored my rising frustration and came up with a halfway believable lie. "Yes, he is actually, he fell asleep and I wasn't going to bother with waking him up. He seems like he'd be the type of person to grow irritable when presented with such a situation. I'd be more than happy to show you to his room if you would like."  
Abaroa slightly shook his head, quickly replying, "That's okay, I was just checking up on him to make sure he wasn't hurt or anything. Again I'm sorry for having bothered you so late, good night."  
I nodded slightly, "yes, good night." Abaroa awkwardly dipped his head before turning and following Sebastian down the hallway.  
That idiot, I told him to be out of there by four and Raziela didn't even leave until five o' clock. Did he just blatantly not listen to me? Now I'm stuck with the task of having to retrieve him. Sighing softly, I ran my fingers through my hair and headed down the hall in the opposite direction. I might as well just send Sebastian; they probably already know I'm the one who sent Gus there anyway. I wasn't going to bother wasting my time coming up with a strategy to stealthily extract him. Even then, everything could wait until morning; whatever happens to him is what he had coming.  
Sebastian entered my room behind me, and crouched down in front of me after I sat on the edge of the bed. "Young master, is there anything you would like me to do?"  
Closing my eyes briefly, I pulled off my eye patch and replied, "No. Let's just hope he doesn't get killed before morning. You can go over in the morning and get him, although the worst thing that I'm expecting to happen is him getting some religious belief whipped into him. There's no need to be too concerned."  
Sebastian nodded as he finished buttoning my nightshirt, and stood, "Of course young master, whatever you say." He bowed before exiting, turning the light off before closing the door back. Despite what I kept telling myself, I truly wondered if he was going to be alright, I mean people like that tended to not be what they appeared to be. It wouldn't surprise me if they even tried to induct him. Forcing my eyes close, I pulled the blankets up higher and told myself it was nothing worth losing sleep over.

Ciel is certainly full of surprises isn't he? In his defense, he seemed to lack a moral compass so perhaps that could partly be to blame. A soft sigh escaped me as Lahash dropped the misguided detective onto the floor in front of me. He dipped his head and crouched down in front of me, "Mistress, what would you like me to do with him?"  
He glanced up and malice sparkled in his onyx eyes, signifying what he really wanted me to tell him to do. In this particular situation such treatment wouldn't help, if anything it would only make things worse since he was a high ranking officer. Should he do something to injure him we'd only attract more attention to ourselves. "Not whatever you are thinking of, besides he's just confirming what he already knows. Although I must admit, his tactics are a bit undesirable."  
Lahash glared at me, his eyes flashing bright blue to express his obvious irritation, but he didn't say anything as he stood and sprawled out in the chair across from me in the most unseemly manner. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence though. We just weren't morally compatible. In fact most of the time he spent with me he seemed to be frustrated and I was trying to keep him from doing something bad. I would inevitably have to remind myself that wasn't human, no matter how much he looked the part. He was nothing more than one of the children of darkness who led those astray. He thrived on chaos and destruction and wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone.  
Lahash sighed loudly, breaking off my train of thought, "Then what am I doing with this thing?"  
I glanced up at him, and suppressed an urge to correct such rude behavior, and took a deep breath. "He shall dine with us this evening and we shall put him up in a guest room; it would be impolite to do anything different, especially this late at night."  
Gus shifted slightly from where he had been placed on the floor and raised his hand slightly. I nodded in response and he asked, "Don't I get a say in things? No offense but my roommate s overbearing and feels the need to know where I am all the time and treat me like a child. He's going to be worried about me."  
Smiling, I tipped my head to one side and replied, "I'd be a horrible host if I didn't at least feed you. If your roommate is as caring as you say he is, then he probably already went looking for you. You told him you were going to see Ciel correct?"  
He nodded slightly, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, "yes, I did."  
I nodded slightly, "Ciel probably came up with some excuse for you then, when your roommate came to check up on you. However, if you are really that intent on not staying, I would be more than happy to send for a carriage for you."  
Gus shook his head and began to run his fingers through his dark brown hair. "No, it's fine; besides you are right about it being late. Are you sure you don't mind though, I don't want to further bother you with my being here uninvited and all."  
Shaking my head I smiled again, "nonsense, I wouldn't have extended the invitation if I wished otherwise, and there's plenty of food so I'm more than happy to share."

Gus still seemed hesitant to accept my invitation, and seemed to think things through for a few moments before nodding, "Alright, thank you." Lahash had just been glaring at me from his spot throughout the conversation, acting much like a scorned child. Most of the time he acted like it was my fault he was chained to me. I was just following the will of my masters in fact I was doing all of this for them.  
Slightly biting my bottom, I struggled to ignore a sudden rushing torrents of long suppressed memories and feeling of loneliness. Standing abruptly, I clasped my hand together in front of me, "Lahash please go set the table, and I'll take Gus to the washroom so he can get ready for dinner."  
Lahash rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything in objection and slid to the floor. He glared at Gus on the way by, but didn't waste any more time in here and headed to the kitchen. Gus slowly stood up and placed his large hand in mine when I offered it to assist him. He smiled in a friendly way and thanked me.  
I nodded curtly and lead the way out into the corridor. Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes and thought to myself, whatever happens tomorrow will mark the beginning of our final battle.

Staring out the window at the green scenery that slowly drifted by, I found myself wondering I was going in the first place. Sebastian was more than capable of handling this on his own, my coming would probably only create more trouble. I just hope he isn't injured This whole thing was starting to drag on for a lot longer than it needed to, and it was getting on my nerves. If things aren't done with Gus' method by the end of the week I'm just going to send Sebastian in and have him do things my way. This is why the yard didn't deal with things pertaining to the underworld; by time they figured out just what was going on the organization they were pinpointing was all covered up an temporarily shut down or moved to a different city.  
The carriage pulled to a stop and Sebastian climbed out, then helped me out as well. I left closing the door back up to him, and headed towards the house wanting to get everything done with as soon as possible. One of the front doors opened and Gus came prancing out like nothing was wrong. Clenching my teeth together in frustration I turned ready to leave without even bothering to make small talk with the current owner of the gothic styled manor. Gus came up behind me and tousled me hair, "Hey kid, long time no see; did you miss me."  
Ignoring him I continued walking, but he place a hand on my shoulder to stop me. Turning sharply I glared up at him, feeling foolish for even bothering to have been worried about him. "What is it?"  
He sighed softly and explained, "Don't get snippy with me, I'm just the messenger, but Raziela said she wanted to talk to you." When I was about to respond he quickly added, "And no, I don't know what it's about, she just sent me out to get you because she figured she'd listen to me."  
Closing my eyes briefly I contemplated what I wanted to do. I think she over estimates the relationships between the two of us, his opinion is not valued or highly sought after. I looked Gus over for any signs of torture, but he seemed perfectly fine; in fact he seemed a lot more upbeat and perky than he had when I had sent him here. Either nothing happened or she did a really good job of emotionally torturing him. Still if she was stupid enough to put her trust in a grown man who couldn't follow simple instructions, and left him unharmed, I figured I at least owed her a brief meeting. This better not take all morning, I have things to do today.  
Turning, I resumed heading towards the house, hoping that she wasn't going to lecture me about kindness and 'righteous moral ways'. Gus led me into the house, and to the left, where Raziela was sitting in the parlor with Lahash. I didn't really know what he was up to, since he was perched on top of the back of Raziela's chair, but Sebastian took up his spot behind me and I decided to let the whole thing drop.  
Lahash's eye flashed a bright blue and he smirked impishly, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by his keeper because she glared at him and demanded he didn't make any trouble. He didn't respond and Raziela said, "I'm glad you came."  
Sighing softly I stopped all the small talk now, "Can you please just get to the point, otherwise I'm leaving."  
She smiled slightly, and Lahash shifted on his perch, intently studying me. "I'd just like to say that the final stage has been set. My comrades and I shall be eagerly anticipating your arrival."  
Shifting slightly, I folded my arms over my chest, "Might I ask just where this stage is?"  
Raziela opened her mouth to respond but Lahash promptly cut her off, "You know exactally where, those leeches tend to be sellouts." He started right as Sebastian as he made the comment, but Gus glanced over at me seeming fairly confused, but I ignored him. The whole thing made sense; it was just the process of recalling just what I was thinking of.  
Raziela glared up at him and sighed softly, before rubbing he face like the whole thing was making her head hurt, "Stop being so rude."  
Sebastian ignored the demon perched on her chair and commented, "It's quite all right, not all of us know how to act respectful when in the presence of our elders."  
A slight smile crossed her face and she laughed nervously while Lahash commented, "Oh no, I pick and choose, because I don't listen to anyone unless I'm contractually obligated to. No human is going to chain me up like a dog as long as I can help it; I see your aesthetic seems to be completely different."  
Lahash's voice dropped several octaves and his eye turned that blue color again, "As a butler it is my duty to follow my master's order to the letter, and assure the household runs smoothly, if I did otherwise I wouldn't be worth my salt."  
He tipped his head to the side and smirked, his teeth a lot sharper than they had been, "Pity, I used to hear wonderful tales of all towns you've burned and the people you've killed. It's a damn shame the rumors about you being reduced to nothing more than a lap dog are true." He leapt from the chair and landed on the floor in front of Raziela, "I wonder what other rumors are true."  
Sebastian came to stand by my side and smiled, "I honestly don't know what you are talking about."  
Raziela glared at Lahash and despite how she was trembling she took a deep breath and firmly told him to stop. Being the mouthy demon that he was, Lahash glanced back and towered over her, "Make me."  
"Listen and obey you wretched creature, stop and leave." A silence fell over the room as he smirked and slowly sauntered out, leaving a distressed girl and a confused man in the wake of things.  
I knew she wasn't cut out for this. She rubbed her temples in a circular motion, before glancing over, and smiling weakly, "Sorry about that little display, but I think it's best you leave, knowing him that thing is already planning something to get on my nerves."  
I nodded slightly, taking in her sudden paleness, "yes that sounds like a good idea; until next time."  
She nodded slightly before I turned and left with Sebastian and Gus in tow.  
After entering the carriage Gus finally seemed to be more coherent than he had been throughout the progress of the demons little display. "What the hell just happened?"  
Resting my head on my hand, I glanced at him before returning my gaze to the wooded landscape, "Sebastian can explain it to you, after all he was the one involved."

Sebastian seemed a bit irritated with my response, but didn't object and replied, "We demons tend to be very possessive creatures, even if we don't show it. That little display was simply an open challenge of dominance although I must admit up until recently I had much more garish behavior. It's a trait then tends to disappear over time, but it also depends on the humans you enter a contract with. Not that that is how all of us choose to operate."  
Gus' eyes widened slightly with the explanation and it seemed to take a while for him to fully comprehend what was going on. Once he did he took a deep breath and started running his fingers through his hair, asking himself what he got himself into. In attempts to distract him from whatever downward spiral he was about to plunge himself into, "So just what were you tracking down that was so important?"  
He took a long time to respond and eventually managed, "Nothing other than this secret tunnel. There was a lot of empty chambers and markings on the walls but I don't know where it led, of if it even leads somewhere. Long story short after some roaming I was found by them."  
Sighing softly, I glanced at Sebastian, who nodded slightly. Then I finally managed to remember just what I was thinking of earlier. The stained glass church that the vampire form the other night mentions was probably what Lahash was referencing when he mentions 'leeches being sellouts'. I bet that's where that tunnel leads out to, so that must mean that church is close by. "Actually that might come in handy if the tunnels open up someplace, but it's nothing we can't handle on our own."  
Gus seemed hesitant to agree with the whole thing, and seemed to think it over, but eventually gave a slight nod. "Alright kid, but you aren't allowed to do anything stupid without my consent."  
Rolling my eye, I didn't respond as we headed down the grey streets of London. Stopping in front of Gus' apartment, he tousled my hair on the way out, "Thanks kid, I owe you one."  
Staring down at him as he stepped onto the street I replied, "I wouldn't if you followed simple instructions."  
He shrugged and adjusted the collar of his tan coat, "Curiosity killed the cat." He closed the door and headed inside, leaving me alone with Sebastian.  
Once we were on the road again, I finally said, "Those tunnels more than likely lead out to where this so called 'final stage' is. It can't be too far away from the house otherwise it wouldn't be that convenient when it comes to transporting people and whatnot. I want you to find it as soon as possible without drawing any attention to yourself. You're better off going when it get dark because right now Lahash is probably skulking around someplace just waiting for you to show up."  
Sebastian nodded in response and I returned to watching the gray landscape pass by. This is going to be a long day.

Abaroa kept flitting back and forth from various rooms in the apartment to where I was trying to nap in the living room. Well it wasn't really the best time for a nap since it was almost seven in reality I was just lounging around in someplace that wasn't my room because he kept fussing with me. He had already fluffed the pillows a couple times and offered me tea, cookies, cake, hell he even offered to run me a bath. It left me wondering how lonely he got when I wasn't around.  
He came back in after doing whatever it was he was doing in the other room and fluffed the pillows again. Sighing softly, I decided it was best that I go someplace else, but Abaroa had already moved on to the kitchen and after I was about to step into my room he called me for dinner. Why has my luck been so bad lately?  
After washing my hands, I headed to the small table that sat in-between the kitchen and parlor. Abaroa joined me and pushed a plate towards me. After about thirty seconds of silence he asked, "How did things go yesterday?"  
Suppressing a sigh, I glanced at him, determined to keep things as vague as possible, "Fine."  
"Did you figure anything out?"  
He sighed softly as took a long time to answer, before shrugging, "I guess, I didn't find anything I figured out useful but Ciel did."  
Abaroa nodded slightly, seeming to have run out of small talk to make, I was grateful for it too, I never like making it. I didn't like interacting with people in general; it just seemed pointless half the time. Some people were just untrustworthy and I didn't want to waste my time on the, other people just cared too much. I didn't like being babied either; I spent my whole life not being cuddled and there was no point to start now.  
Finishing, I wasted no time dropping my plate into the sink and heading to my room, wondering if those books I picked up the other day would be of any use. Settling down on my bed I flipped through the pages, mostly just looking at the very detailed pictures than reading for content. I wasn't in the mood to look through the loopy font that the words were written in.  
About a quarter of the way through the book I started to recognize some of the symbols in the margins, at least I thought I did at first. I pulled out my notebook from by pocket and tried to find the spot where I had started to copy down the symbols I had been in the underground tunnel system. All of them matched up to the ones copied down in the book, so I moved over to my desk where there was more light and started to actually read what was written down.  
on the night of the new moon said groups gather together under a dome of glass that will be positioned directly under the moon at ten twenty three pm. At this time the sacrifice shall be placed into Wait, sacrifice? Shifting slightly, I tried to remember any recent missing persons reports that might have gone unnoticed with all the murders going on, but none came to mind, and I was sure Abaroa would have told me if one came in since he seemed to feel the need to tell me every mundane thing that happened at the station since I wasn't there. That meant it was probably meant it would be someone within the group or some random person off the streets who nobody would notice if they were to suddenly go missing. Even then, it left a small window of opportunity for us to intervene before someone got killed.  
into the center of the floor below the dome and have the marks of the deity they worship shall be carved into the flesh. Afterwards a sealing circle shall me drawn around the victim in their own blood, a process which takes roughly twenty minutes Quickly closing the book I pushed it away, not really wanting to read any more. The whole thing was insane and illogical. Who in their right mind actually believed than things like that worked? Someone was going to die because of a group's blind faith in something there was absolutely no evidence of!  
Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes and leaned back in the chair, I'll have to go see Ciel, although he seemed intent on figuring out whatever Lahash had been hinting about earlier. He probably would, and if not this new bit of information might prove to be a big driving force. Then again if he didn't have any luck there had been some coordinates scribbled down on a paper in one of the unlocked chamber I had stumbled across. If I could find a map, and someone who actually knew a thing or two about coordinates, we might have better luck with things. We'll have to figure this all out soon, we only have two days until this sacrifice, is supposed to happen.

I had an unwanted sense of d j vu as I was once again roaming around through various back alleys, and I couldn't shake the sensation of being watched. I didn't know if it was from all the creepy stuff I had been reading or the fact that lately I had been growing increasingly paranoid.

Since Ciel wasn't going to be around most of the morning, I decided to take the opportunity to return the books I had borrowed; only I was starting to regret the decision of wandering around alone. I really need to stop over thinking everything.  
This time around I felt more confident in knowing my way around, but I was taking some very indirect routes because I wanted to kill time. Sitting at home was the last thing I wanted to do right now because it was Abaroa's day off and he decided to clean the apartment top to bottom because it would be 'fun'. The kid needed to get out a lot more if he though spending your whole day off cleaning was fun. I was half expecting him to say he was going to go hang out with the secretary again, but since I hadn't heard anything about her since their outing I assumed things didn't go well or he was just the backup choice. Either way I didn't want to get involved with him and his sudden urge to clean. Normal people didn't do this until after winter.  
Taking a right, I found myself at the shop a lot sooner that I had anticipated. I couldn't quite use the word creepy to describe it anymore, the place had grown on me in a way, and in the past couple days I had seen a lot more things than this shop that needed to be considered creepy.  
The silver bell overhead tinkled as I opened the heavy black door and none other than Ayberk glanced over from where he was standing behind the glass counter. He smiled slightly as I approached, commenting, "I was wondering when I was going to see you again." I placed the two heavy books on the counter and Ayberk leaned forward, "Were they helpful?"  
I nodded and laughed nervously, "Very, actually."  
"I knew they would, wait here." He slid the books off the counter and balanced them in the crook of his arm as he headed to the back room, probably to put them away. I glanced around my surroundings to find they hadn't really changed since the last time I was in here, although that huge gargoyle was gone. I felt bad for the poor sod who had to carry that thing out of here, it must have weighed what? Sixty pounds at least Ayberk came back and studied me a bit before commenting, "You look like the dead."  
I smiled slightly, "Yeah, I couldn't sleep."  
He tipped his head slightly to one side and rested his chin on his intertwined fingers, "Now why might that be?"  
I don't know if he was just trying to get a rise out of me or actually wanted to know, but I didn't mind spending some time here with him so I decided to just go with it. "I don't really know I just felt like I was being watched. To be honest, I 've been having that feeling a lot lately."  
He seemed slightly amused by my response, and seemed to be putting in an effort to not smile. "Paranoia isn't that much to cope with. Slip a bit of rum into some sweetened tea and you'll fall right asleep. Just not enough to get you drunk because then you'll have to deal with a headache in the morning. Or if you don't drink there's always the option of sleeping during the day, humans tend to be less wary of things then. I don't know why though, monsters don't care what time of day it is, they'll kill you when they want to."  
I blinked a couple times and stared at him blankly, wondering why this happened every time I started to have a conversation with him. Things always seemed to redirect in the direction of all things dark and twisted. Watch these visits be the real reason behind my sudden paranoia. "Well it seems like everyone has a primal fear of the dark, there you can't see what's right in front of you."  
"Yes it almost makes me wonder why that is, I mean you don't just fear something for no reason, even if you aren't consciously aware of the answer there is a reason. It can't just be because of your inability to see things otherwise blind people would be terrified of everything." He leaned forward slightly, his bright blue eyes boring into mine, "Then there's the dead rising back up, snakes, spiders, and a whole bunch of things I didn't go into. Why do you think that is?"  
Blinking several times, I struggled to form an answer, I didn't even understand half of what we were talking about, I understood the content, I just couldn't comprehend the fact that I was actually standing here discussing this. For some reason I also felt no inclination to end the conversation either because in the back of my mind there was this little voice going, he does have a point. "I honestly have no idea, but the thought it terrifying. It must have something to do with things that have evolved and adapted with us. Those things that we feared then are probably still out there in a different for just waiting for us to lower out guard " I glanced up from the display case, wondering if I had really just said that.  
Apparently I did because Ayberk pouted slightly, "You're no fun, I was going to say that. Although I've got you thinking so I can say it's a little personal victory." He winked at me before completely changing the subject, "So what did you think of new moon sacrifices. It's personally not one of my favorite chapters but " He turned to face the door as if he was expecting someone, but glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.  
How much does he know? "I can say I wholeheartedly agree with you."  
He turned so he was facing me again, and rested his arms on the display case, "I had a feeling you would say something like that. It can't be helped though. I would keep one thing in mind before I send you on your way." He leaned over the display case and invited me to do the same. Hesitantly I did as he asked and he whispered, "The one you're trying to save is already doomed."  
He straightened as I was going to ask him what he was getting at, and smiled, waving me off. Sighing softly I headed towards the door and before it slammed shut he assured me that I could figure it out on my own. Taking a deep breath I headed for home, suddenly feeling a lot less jumpy after that morbid conversation.


	9. Chapter 9

A sigh escaped me as the locks clicked out of place. I opened the door and stared down at the disgruntled and mildly irritated Ciel that stood there. He glanced up with an unamused glare when I questioned, "What are you doing here?"  
Ciel sighed softly, before brushing past me into the living room, bluntly replying, "I already explained this to you yesterday." He settled himself into a nearby chair while I closed and relocked the door.  
As I resettled myself on the couch Ciel draped his coat across the back of his chair and produced a book. However, as I racked my brain to recall some events of yesterday's afternoon tea, I found myself struggling to remember anything that he had told me. Then again, I sometimes found myself barely able to remember what had happened just this morning, or even a couple hours ago for that matter. "I don't remember you telling me anything about this. Just when exactally did this happen?"  
Ciel took a deep breath, like the question got on his last nerve and he was about to patronize me, but before he had the chance to enlighten me on the subject Abaroa took the liberty of replying instead. "He told you yesterday right after you ate all the cookies and just before he left."  
I could vaguely remember eating all the cookies since Abaroa rambled on and on about how I didn't know how to share or be considerate of other people's feelings. It was really long winded speech and he got mad when I cut him short offered to go buy him some more. That aside, I just didn't remember Ciel saying anything of great importance or anything that meant I would be in charge of watching him tonight Then again I sometimes found myself not paying attention when he talked. It felt like he was treating patronizing me or treating me like I was na ve. Furrowing my brow I skeptically asked, "Really?"  
Ciel nodded slightly before I decided to just allow the whole subject to drop. It was pointless to further pursue the topic since nothing else was probably going to jog my memory. Man my memory is shot, it's a wonder I can remember as many irrelevant details that I do or I find my way home at night. After rubbing my eyes, I glanced over to find Ciel staring at the book he had brought. The volume was bound in thick, black leather with gold embroidery around the edges. There weren't any markings or other indications as to who the author was or what the title of the book was; leaving me without the slightest idea to guess at what he was reading. Ciel didn't really seem to be engaged with the book though, since he was taking an awful long time just to read one page, unless he was a really slow reader. I doubted it though since he ran a company, you had to be strongly literate for that.  
It seemed like we had been sitting in the almost silence for hours before Abaroa put aside whatever he was working on at the small table in the corner of the room and stood up. He headed towards his room saying that he was going to bed. Just before disappearing into the darkened hallway he added, "Gus don't burn down the flat if you decide to make tea."  
Idly flipping through the paper I had read this morning, I slowly replied, "No promises there." I heard Abaroa softly sigh, and flashed him an impish smirk; which in turn earned an eye roll before he left me to my own devices. He acts like I can't take care of myself; I've been on my own for how long now?  
Ciel briefly glanced up at me but returned to staring at his book without saying anything. Deciding to break the silence, I asked, "Why are you here again?"  
Ciel didn't bother to look up again and leafed through the book in his lap. He rested his head on his hand and seemed more uninterested than he normally did when he replied, "Didn't we already go through this?"  
Shifting into a more comfortable position I replied, "No, before I asked what, now I'm asking why."  
Completely ignoring my question, Ciel bluntly stated, "you need to have your mental status checked; you aren't old enough to be experiencing memory loss unless you have some mental illness that isn't listed in any of your records."  
Frowning slightly, I glared over at him and sharply retorted, "It's from sleep deprivation if you must know, and I don't have any mental illnesses." Sitting up straighter I added, "Besides I don't think I would have been able to become a detective if I did, since I'm trusted with a gun."  
Ciel closed his book and looked over, balancing it atop his crossed legs. Leaning forward slightly he rebuttaled, "Mental stability does not affect one's ability to own a firearm so long as they can act sane."  
"Sad but true; however when you are under constant public scrutiny, one cannot afford to slip-up. Shoot the wrong person and you might just be involved in a situation that won't disappear just from paying off the right people."  
He paused slightly and seemed to study me before leaning back and expertly changing the subject. "I'm here because Sebastian didn't want to leave me alone while he was following up on this so called 'glass church'; we don't have and time to dawdle around with it. Even my house staff wouldn't stand a chance against a rampaging demon and I highly doubt anybody is paying your presence on this case any mind."  
Giving a small, somewhat sarcastic smile, I replied, "It's a great honor to know Sebastian trusts me enough to even be considered for the position of you back up babysitter." Ciel's blue eye narrowed slightly at the word 'babysitter' but he didn't say anything in retaliation. We sat there staring at each other for several more minutes before Ciel looked away. I didn't know if I was seeing things or not, but for a second I could have sworn his cheeks were a bit flushed. I didn't really know what to make of it, but I was hoping he wasn't coming down with something. I knew I probably wouldn't ever live it down if Ciel was to suddenly come down with something while under my care. He did look kind of cute though, it was a brief glance into what a not perpetually uninterested Ciel looked and acted like The thought seemed to trail off and kind of hang there for several seconds before I actually realized what I was thinking. I shook my head in an attempt to dispel the strange thoughts. I must be crazy if I'm getting attached to this kid.  
I closed my eyes for a few seconds to straighten out my head when Ciel suddenly asked, "What do you intend to do when I start doing things your boss pays me to keep under wraps?"  
Opening one of my eyes, I wearily stared at him, not quite sure how to answer in all honestly I didn't even think I knew the answer to the question myself. Under normal circumstances I would feel morally obligated to respond with something halfway heroic and overly ambitious when it came down to it. As much as it pained, and frustrated, me to think so, when it came down to it, it didn't seem like there was anything for me to do. I would probably would do nothing because that was the only thing I felt I was fully capable of doing in this whole situation. This whole thing wasn't my fight, or any of my business; it never has and it never will be. If I thought back throughout this whole thing it just seemed like I was just being dragged along for a ride. I didn't have any idea as to what I was doing half the time and sometimes even now I still found myself wondering what was actually going on.

Taking a deep breath, I forced out a small smile and moved so I was sitting on the floor in front of Ciel's chair. Not wanting to fully express my answer at the present time, I reached up and tousled his hair fondly. Resting my back against the chair, I replied, "don't worry about it kid, that's for me to know and you to find out."  
I could feel his eyes resting on me for a couple more seconds, but he quickly redirected his gaze when I glanced up at him, his cheeks turning a light pink color once again. What's wrong with him all of the sudden?  
A silence fell over the room and eventually the small clock in the corner chimed several times to announce the changing of the hour. Looking up, I found Ciel half asleep in his chair. His black-blue hair had fallen to one side of his face, keeping his eye patch covered, but his thick eyelashes were a sharp contrast against his fair skin. He stirred slightly, probably feeling eyes on him, before quickly opening his eyes and glaring at me. "What are you doing?"  
Shrugging, I slowly rose from the floor and easily took him into my. He protested slightly as I moved him over to the couch so he could at least lie down. Speaking from experience, falling asleep in these chairs would cause all sorts of unwanted aches and pains when you woke up. At first he sat in the corner at the opposite end of the couch end and pouted, seeming to have a sudden determination to not sleep here. Settling myself on the opposite end of the couch I started rifling through his book. Although after a few pages I found myself wondering why I was so engaged since all the subject matter was so dark and morbid. The fact that he was reading this made me wonder just what was going on inside his head. It was easy enough to tell something had happened at him to make him seem so detached from everything, I could see it in his eyes. I was just starting to wonder just what this thing was. He was still just a kid who had his whole life before him, but he just seemed weighted down by whatever he was holding onto.  
Eventually Ciel shifted around and quickly placed his head in my lap, like he was having a hard time gathering up enough time to do it. He didn't attempt to swat my hand away like he normally did when I started stroking his hair; in fact it didn't seem to take him very long to relax. Ciel's breathing gradually slowed as I continued to work my fingers through his soft hair, and eventually he fell asleep. Pulling the brown and purple afghan down off its place on the back of the couch, I draped it over Ciel's sleeping form so he wouldn't get cold. Placing my elbow on the arm of the couch, I propped my head up on my hand, figuring I could get in a quick nap before Sebastian came to pick him up. It wasn't like Ciel was going to mind.  
Ciel suddenly stirred after a while, but afterwards he just seemed to lie there, so I figured he hadn't woken up again. Not paying any mind to the gesture, I kept my eyes closed and continued to pet his hair; enjoying the feeling of the silky strands wrapping around my fingers as I ran them through his hair. I was a bit shocked that he hadn't put up some sort of struggle against the action when he was still awake. Normally the kid couldn't stand physical contact of any sort; I figured the same would go for when he was asleep too. But he seemed a bit more timid, I couldn't really explain how, but there was just this feeling I got; and the fact that he seemed to be more on edge than he normally was.  
Resisting a sudden urge to move around, I picked my head up and glanced down at Ciel, only to find him staring off into out space. Leaning forward slightly in an attempt to get a better look at his face I asked quietly, "What's up kid?"  
Ciel shook his head slightly and pulled the blanket higher so it covered most of his pale face. Whatever was on his mind seemed to have dragged him miles away from what was actually going on right now. It seemed like he was off in his own little world dwelling on whatever just so happened to be passing through his head at any given point; easily sifting through thoughts and memories like he had been doing it his whole life. All while managing to maintain that same indifferent expression in attempts to ward off any possible concern from others.  
After a long pause, Ciel seemed to drag himself from his self-induced trance and realized what was going on. Wasting no time he asked, "What are you doing?"  
I rested my head on my hand again and continued to stroke his hair, shortly replying, "nothing." He sighed softly, but I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a sign for something. I just assumed it was a kind of bored sigh, because he continued to not protest against my touching him. His eyes gradually fluttered shut and he brought his knees closer to his chest, not bothering to say anything else. Ciel fell asleep again soon after, but he seemed to be more peaceful than he had been a few moments ago. Even around Sebastian he seemed to be a bit guarded and on edge; but now it was like he didn't have a care in the world. It seemed like there was something he was desperately trying to keep hidden; like it was there just waiting to come out. I wanted to be able to assure him that he was just overreacting, but I didn't know where to being guessing. As much as he obviously didn't want people to know, I wished I could figure out what was further weighing him down. It just bothered me that he had to deal with so much, he didn't deserve it. Poor kid I rubbed my eyes and tried to fend off a rising onslaught of rampaging emotions not really wanting to delve into the subject at the present time; especially with Ciel sitting right there. I might have gotten tempted to ask some questions that he might not want to answer. I closed my eyes once again and for the first time in the past month I wasn't bombarded with a rushing torrent of ideas and insignificant theories that I was trying to work. My mind was just a blank slate that was effectively blocking out all insignificant background noise and thought; although the ticking from the clock in the corner of the room still managed to effectively penetrate my consciousness. I jumped slightly as the clock suddenly announced the changing of the hour once again. Opening my eyes, I glanced around the room, a bit confused as to what was going on. I don't know what it was, but I half expected to see something fallen over on the floor that wasn't supposed to be there, or something else out of place. Leaning forward I found myself wondering why I couldn't move my legs, until I glanced down to find Ciel still sleeping in my lap. I stared down at him for a several more seconds, but he seemed to be completely unaware of my sudden movement. He must be a really heavy sleeper.  
I continued my survey of the room, unable to shake a sudden feeling of being watched. Sighing softly, I closed my eyes briefly trying to focus on anything other than the sensation of eyes burning holes into the back of my skull. I then opened them again to find the front door wide open and Sebastian standing right in front of me. Starting, I firmly stated, "Don't sneak up on me."  
Sebastian smiled and bowed slightly, getting right to the point. "Pardon the intrusion; I have simply come to retrieve my young master."  
I carefully pulled the blanket back so I didn't wake him and gestured to Ciel's sleeping form, "By all means, take him." Sebastian easily took the small boy into his arms and thanked me, before leaving with Ciel safely cradled in his arms.  
After he had left, I found myself trying to remember if I had locked the door back or not. I mean it was a seemingly insignificant detail, but I wanted to know how he had gotten in if they had been. Rising from my spot on the couch, I took a look at the locks, before shrugging to myself and relocking the already closed door. Turning off the small table lamp on the way by, I flopped down on the couch again, not really feeling like going to sleep my own room. Now that Ciel was gone the whole place seemed a lot emptier than it had been moments ago, and left me feeling a bit lonely. I knew I wasn't completely alone, but the sudden lack of presence in the room made it seem like I was. Lying on the couch, I pulled the blanket over my head I closed my eyes again, hoping I would be able to fall asleep sometime soon.

Brother Isaiah placed his weathered hands on either side of my face as I fought back the tears that threatened to spill down the sides of my face. "Dear child, this is simply not your destiny." I'm so useless. Biting the inside of my bottom lip, I only gave a slight nod for a response and stared down at the ground, not trusting myself to speak right now. His persistent encouragement was only making me feel worse about the whole thing. "We cannot afford to lose you at such a crucial time; the heretic is much better suited for this task than you are."  
I nodded again, forcing out a small smile. "Good girl, now go get changed while we prepare, and make sure you put that creature to good use." I nodded again and watched him go before collapsing onto my bed and clutching a pillow to my chest. Everything I had been striving to achieve my whole life had just been taken away from me in a few minutes. It was like I suddenly wasn't good enough. The one goal I had in life had just been ripped away from me and now it was like I didn't had a purpose. I'm so useless.  
Light drifted in from the hallway as the door opened again, and after some time I eventually glanced over to find Lahash watching me from where he was standing in the doorway. When I didn't give the slightest inclination that I was going to further acknowledge his presence he bluntly stated, "You're going to hell."  
Why does he take it upon himself to constantly remind me of things I already know? It like he enjoys my pain. I supposed I can't expect much more from a creature like him though. Sighing softly, I pulled the pillow closer and asked, "What sort of point are you trying to make?"  
He was a blank slate as he continued on with his personal vendetta, obviously paying no attention to my desire to be alone. "Why do you still follow them around like they can save your soul? They can't because I own it; the mark on your chest proves it."  
Taking a few deep breaths, I briefly closed my eyes before slowly replying, "Just because I can't be saved doesn't-  
He didn't even let me finish before persisting, "Why bother though? If the whole point of your human religions is to reach the 'lands of paradise' or whatever equivalent there is for whatever you people believe in, what is the point when you can't get there? What is the point in staying faithful when you abandoned all those aspirations the second you entered a covenant with me?"  
Why does he always do this? Why does he make me want to second guess myself? Clutching the pillow closer to me, I bit my bit my bottom lip for a couple seconds, trying to keep my voice from shaking when I replied, "I- I don't need to explain myself to you! You have no business questioning me."  
"Yet here I stand and there you lay. It's humans like you that irritate me, yet I always get chained to you because I'm still considered a lesser demon in all your grimoires or whatever those books are called. You get all defensive and non-responsive when your faith is being questioned instead of being able to come up with a logical and rational answer and get yourselves all worked up" He paused for a long time and I came to open my eyes, only to find him standing before me, his eyes shifted to their unnaturally bright blue color, "You want to know why fallen angels are so psychotic?"  
Lahash paused again like he was expecting me to give him an answer, not that I was going to. I wasn't going to give in to his childish need to manipulate me, he was just trying to get a rise out of me; it was the only reason he was probably even bothering to pursue the subject. I didn't need to explain myself to him or anybody else who didn't understand, most of the time they just wanted something to gossip about anyway. Most girls my age were only concerned about who they were getting married to an having kids, while I spoke three languages and would gain a lot more life experience than they ever could. None of their opinions mattered as long as I was happy at least that's what I kept telling myself.  
"They just begin to subtly question what they have been blindly following for who knows how many decades. They start radically interoperating those texts that they have memorized and worshiped because they don't know anything else. In turn, they deem everything unworthy; nothing meets their obscenely high standards to they start killing things in the name of the God that shunned them for their sudden change in attitude.  
Your religious officials dare call us evil when we follow the commands given to us by you humans. We are simply tools that you use to wreak havoc but your kind refuse to see that and blame us instead. Not that I would pass us the opportunity to slaughter you if I had the chance. They sell their souls because there's no way out or they know these lofty claims of paradise are so difficult to achieve in the first place that they just give up and turn to us."  
Drawing blood from the inside of my lip, I buried my face in the pillow I was holding and closed my eyes tighter, feeling worse than I had when this 'conversation' started. Why does he do this to me? Taking a deep breath I softly replied, "I owe them, that's a good enough reason." I didn't want to think about what would have happened if I had been left to roam the streets. I probably would have ended up in the workhouse or already have been dead by now. I owed them my life, the least I could do was stay loyal to them.  
Lahash paused again and I had almost taken the sudden silence as him having left, but I slowly looked up to find him back in the doorway staring at me. "You stopped owing them the second they sold you to me."  
Turning my back on him, I stared out the glass doors that lead to my balcony suddenly feeling exhausted from the whole ordeal. The again our little 'talks' always seemed to do that or when he decided to misbehave. "I already told you what you needed to do so just go do it; I want to be alone.  
I could tell he rolled his eyes, but he didn't protest against my request and commented as he walked away, "Whatever you say princess."

Sighing softly, I continued to make my way down the edge of the darkened, uneven street. I found myself wondering why I kept allowing myself to get sucked into doing Ciel's menial chores or falling for all the busywork he apparently liked to give me. I didn't mind some of the more exciting tasks he delegated to me, but it was the tasks that just seemed to drag on for hours and felt like he was just trying to get rid of me that got on my nerves. Stretching my shoulders, I closed my eyes for a couple seconds. After a very unproductive afternoon I found myself just wanting this whole case to be over with. I knew it was, but all day time seemed to have slowed to a crawl, every time I bother to look at a clock minutes had passed instead of hours.  
For almost the entire day, but especially since it had gotten dark, I felt eyes on me, like I was being watched from some inconceivable hiding place. When I inevitably gave in to my rising, and very persistent paranoia, and took a through look around at my surroundings, there was nothing out of place for me to find, like I knew there would be. In some of the places I even knew there was no possible way for someone to be lurking in the shadows yet there I would be, feeling paranoid about the fictitious eyes that I felt were watching me. At this point I wanted to see someone or something there just so I would have a solid foundation for these feelings, and could confirm that I wasn't going crazy.  
Slowly coming to a stop, I looked around as I heard a high-pitched chirping. It had been happening now and then, so I thought I was just imagining it, but then it kept continuing. I couldn't really think of anything it could be other than a bird, but it didn't really sound like a bird. It continued on, increasing in frequency and slowly working my nerves. Glancing up just as a shadow passed overhead, I tried to track the large form with my eyes, but some clouds had rolled in and blocked sections of the blackened sky. Maybe it's a bat then There was a sudden sharp pain at the back of my neck and my hand flew there to touch the spot. There wasn't anything thing there other than a small bump, so I figured it was just a bug bite. This is why I stay inside at night; there are too many things out roaming. If I wanted to be in nature all the time I wouldn't have bothered moving to London.  
Time seemed to slow with each step; my legs turned to lead and eventually the ground came rushing up to meet me. Propping myself against a wall to prevent myself from falling over, I looked up to find a pair of bright blue eyes looming over me. "Hurry up and faint, I have things to do."

"Are you sure he's going to be up in time?"  
Rolling my eyes, I sprawled out across my master's window seat and said for about the twelfth time, "Yes, I'm sure." Not that he needs to be awake to be carved up and killed. Raziela kept walking around the large parlor in a restless manor; her eyes kept darting to the still unconscious cop that lay on her couch. She was still agitated form earlier too, since she kept glaring at me. Our little talks always seemed to do that to her when she didn't burst into tears and go on this miniaturized rant about 'demons paving the way towards darkness' or whatever she talked about. I stopped paying attention after a couple seconds because it was just so idiotic and naive. No matter what she thought she knew, when compared to what actually went on, she knew absolutely nothing. I hope she gets killed along with everyone else so I can be done with this whole thing.  
"How much longer until this stupid thing starts; I'm not going to spend my evening sitting around and watching old men in robes."  
She sighed softly before firmly replying, "We wouldn't just be sitting here if you had done what you were asked to earlier like you were supposed to."  
"Sorry if I didn't feel like fighting the demon hanging around that is centuries older than I am. I don't have a death wish, and if I did, I refuse to go down fighting for your cause." I earned no response and my human continued on with her aimless wandering. At the edge of my hearing I caught some faint movement, and shoved open the window next to me. I wasn't about to put up with the whole possey, and as long as I rejoined them before this whole thing started I wouldn't really be missed. I had done what they wanted so right now I was the furthest thing from being on their minds. I contemplated not even showing my face when they got here when the cop's heart rate slowly began to picking up. "He's waking up, you happy now?"  
Raziela stopped and glanced at the couch as the rest of her cohort entered the room. Irritation flashed across the leaders face at the sight of the still unconscious cop, so I slipped outside before he noticed me. It was almost nine and knowing these geezers they were done setting up. Ciel had probably already been made aware of Gus' sudden absence so there was nothing to worry about there either. I just needed to stay out of sight for the right amount of time and hope I wasn't forcibly summoned before I felt my presence was needed. Heading towards the creepy church, I figured I could find someplace nearby to sit and watch the events of this evening unfold.

"Uh, actually Gus isn't here. He went out a couple hours ago; he was going to the store or something, before heading off to your house. Maybe he got side tracked on the way. It seem like lately he is being more absent minded than he normally is."  
Nodding, I thanked Abaroa before turning sharply and heading back down the darkened hallway. What did Gus get himself into this time? I swear that man causes more trouble than he's worth.  
Once were out of earshot Sebastian broke the silence by asking, "Young Master, what do you suggest we do?"  
Slowly exhaling in an attempt to fend off some rising paranoia, I tried to think rationally instead of worrying about someone who obviously didn't know how to properly take care of themselves when left on their own. If he did he certainly didn't do a very good job. "Nothing; we'll continue on with things as planned. Gus probably got himself captured by them once again and will probably be in the immediate vicinity of where we need to be anyhow."  
Sebastian nodded and we continued on in silence. Heading down the street, there wasn't anything for us to do now other than get into position and wait. As if reading my thoughts, Sebastian took me into his arms and headed off across the city for the woods, and towards this so-called 'glass church'.  
I didn't quite know where we were going, but there was this growing, ominous presence that was becoming increasingly overbearing as we continued through the woods. I didn't know what, or where it was coming from, but it was off putting. It started to make me feel a lot more uneasy than I normally did in one of these situations.  
Sebastian stopped suddenly and put me down in time to narrowly avoid being assaulted by that red-haired nuisance. Great, this is just what we needed; now this thing is going to follow us around and take attention from the task at hand. Folding my arms over my chest, I looked on and hoped this whole thing would be over and done with in a timely fashion. "Bassie I've missed you so much!" Grell danced in a little circle around Sebastian and added, "I should have known you were going to be involved with tonight's festivities."  
Not missing a thing, Sebastian inquired, "Might I ask just what 'festivities I'm going to be involved with?"  
Grell paused in his little display and stood in front of Sebastian. He pouted and shook his finger, "Bassie, you know I can't do that." He rested his weight on his death scythe and winked, "You just love trying to get me into trouble don't you?" Grell leaned forward, perching atop his weapon, "Although you and I both know the answer to that question."  
He smirked to reveal his sharp teeth, and he exchanged knowing looks with Sebastian before standing and returning to the ground. Grell glanced at his watched before taking up his death scythe and commenting, "I can't wait to watch you paint it red, Bassie; it gets be all fired up!" He winked, before disappearing into the tree line, once again leaving me alone with Sebastian.  
I quickly followed suit just as Sebastian asked if he wanted to continue forward. Leaving the demon to trail along behind me I pressed forward; Gus better not wind up getting himself killed, I'll never hear the end of it if he does.

Everything was in this strange dull and hazy sort of state. It was like there was this strange fog that blurred and duplicated everything I saw. I wasn't even fully aware of being strapped down to a cold, stone table. It was also particularly difficult to remember how I had gotten there in the first place. I faintly recalled waking up in Raziela's living room, but it seemed like such a faint, whisper of a memory I thought it was just a dream. Even now I couldn't grasp this whole thing as actually being real; it seemed too surreal to be reality. The fact that I felt no urge to struggle against my rope bonds only seemed to enhance the fact that this was a dream. I didn't lack that much of a sense of danger that I wouldn't do that much at least I didn't think I did.  
The people in dark red robes that drifted about the room barely held my attention for a matter of seconds, since I kept getting distracted by the odd coloration of the sky. Instead if it's normal dark blue or black color it appeared to be this strange shade of purple, and the stars seemed to be moving around a lot more than they normally did. If you were to just glance up nobody would have really noticed, but if you stared continually you could tell they were drifting out of their original position more than they normally did. It was odd, for my lack of ability to come up with a much more profound word, but it also seemed strangely familiar in a way.  
A shadow fell across the glass dome I had been looking out of (then again the whole place seemed to be made of glass) and I could just barely make out a figure in red lurking in a nearby tree. Some of the trees large, outcropped branches threatened to break through the roof, but I could just see the figure when the wind picked up. Despite knowing that, I had the oddest sense of d j vu, like I had seen them before somewhere, I just couldn't figure out where precisely. There was also this overwhelming feeling of having forgotten something important, and it was like whatever it was was right there, it just evaded capture. It had to do with meeting someone I just couldn't remember any names, what this meeting was supposed to be about or really anything else for that matter. Oh well, it can't be that important if I can't remember it.  
A panel in the ceiling opened, then closed again before a figure dropped down next to the table. He glanced at me, light reflecting back from his bright blue eyes. The newcomer received several harsh glares from the surrounding robed figures. I knew I had seen him before too, but a name escaped me for him as well, I knew I wasn't good with names, but this was getting out of hand. Although, I couldn't shake the feeling that the something I was forgetting had to do with him. Why can't I remember anything?  
After studying the young man that stood next to me for several seconds I asked, "What did you do to them?"  
He glanced back at me and just shook his head, looking at me like I was stupid or something. Once everyone had resumed their tasks, he leaned forward and whispered, "You just better hope that kid you're so close with comes to get you before you die from blood loss."  
He walked away before I could say anything in response, and it wasn't like I could see him after he moved behind my head. Then I quickly found myself wondering what kid was talking about. No one in particular came to mind; especially since I didn't really have to deal with children at least I didn't think I did. Staring back up at the glass ceiling I racked my brain for some sort of answer. How did I get here anyway? Ciel needs to-  
Ciel! Damn it it's his fault I was out so late in the first place! That kid better be coming to get me then again he's supposed to be here anyway. I was supposed to be here to when I thought about it, just not in this highly unconventional manor. Ciel is probably going to chew me out for this one great I'm going to get lectured by a kid.  
Letting out a long, drawn out sigh, I tried to estimate around what time it was. I mean this ceremony didn't start until about half past ten. I was heading home around eight which is also about the same time Ciel said he was coming to pick me up. It'd take about half an hour to get out here, but half that since Lahash is a demon. Factor in at least half an hour for being unconscious, then the time it took to actually get me all the way out here it's almost ten. Damn.  
Shifting around slightly, I tried to recall just what this whole thing consisted of anyway I faintly remembered something about knives and cutting. It probably would have helped if I had actually bothered to read the whole passage about this stupid thing instead of a few paragraphs. At this point I stopped trying to remember, I honestly didn't want to get myself worked up about something that may or may not happen hopefully not. At minimum I would prefer not getting anything more than a few cuts and bruises. It's not like I'll die anyway it takes a couple hours for someone to bleed out, sure I varies person to person, but on average two hours at least No, don't think about that! Why do these people keep finding me, it's like they are stalking me or something which would explain why I was being so paranoid lately. I wish I never took this case maybe then I wouldn't have gotten kidnapped and be stuck playing errand boy so many times. But then I never would have met Ciel Closing my eyes at the sudden thought, I tried to focus on other things, but when not focused on Ciel my thoughts drifted towards being stabbed, killed, disemboweled, anything of that nature really. What's wrong with me? Raziela came through the double doors at the back of the room just as everybody else in the red robes gathered together. She glanced at me briefly then quickly looked in the other direction and pulled up her hood, obviously not happy with something. It was a bit weird to see her acting like this. She was usually so composed, but now she seemed to genuinely hate me. I just wished I knew why, she didn't seem like the type of person you would want mad at you, especially since just earlier this month she was off having her demon kill people in the name of God. Although she didn't really seem mad, if anything she seemed disappointed with some mild irritation mixed in. Wait, don't tell me she was supposed to be the one up here Although I had to admit she did seem to be the odd one out of the group since she seemed to be the youngest of them all and the only girl. I probably wasn't her idea to summon in the first place, it was obvious they didn't get along, and it was obvious that both parties didn't want the other one around. It actually made a lot of sense now that I thought about it. She was fully prepared to die for these people. It was a bit terrifying if you thought about it not that I really wanted to. What's wrong with me tonight?  
Closing my eyes, I had to stop myself from thinking about the whole thing, but I couldn't. I just wanted to knock some sense into her, but at the same time I knew it would be pointless. It seemed like she was in such a state of denial that anything rational would seem irrational to her. I hate this. I hate being tied up, I hate not being able to do anything and I hate the fact that I feel like I don't know what's going on. Taking a deep breath I tried once again to calm myself. Why is it so hard to not think?  
Opening my eyes once again I stared up through the glass ceiling, and caught that strange red-haired man perched up there. He seemed a bit bored as he sat there, and idly wrote in a small pocket notebook, but nobody else seemed to notice him up there not that anybody was paying particular attention to the ceiling. I wonder what he's doing I caught Lahash lurking in the rafters again; only he seemed slightly pleased when he became aware of the red-head's presence. I found myself wondering if the red haired man was supposed to be some sort of creature as well, but I didn't know exactally what he was supposed to be.  
The robed figures stopped congregating in the small circle they had formed, and headed towards where I was tied. The clouds above slowly started to drift apart as they grew closer, and the new found natural light reflected off a thin and seemingly delicate blade (if it could really be called that). If anything it seemed like an oversized needle, with a larger girth. It wasn't really scary; I just wasn't anticipating what was coming next. It was nice to know my lacking sense of danger wasn't going to suddenly kick in when my life was being threatened.  
The clouds above finished parted and the moon radiated this strange, subtly purple light. At this point I wasn't even going to question how unnatural this whole thing seemed. There was no point to it anymore because knowing my recent luck, an explanation would be presented in a very reasonable manor like the moon turning purple is the most natural thing in the world. Maybe I should just abandon my rationality

Lahash suddenly dropped down out of a nearby tree and stood in front of us, refusing to let us progress. I sighed softly as Sebastian moved to stand in front of me. "What are you doing?"  
The younger demon seemed hesitant to respond before stuffing his hands in his pockets. He cleared his throat before replying in a monotone, "'Listen and obey you wretched creature, go buy time because I shall not have this ceremony be further derailed, etcetera. It goes on for several more minutes but I won't bore you with more mundane details. Although I guess I can consider this little exchanged 'buying time'."  
He took a small step forward, seeming to contemplate his options at the present moment. If he's trying to buy them time, then something must have gone wrong and they are running late with whatever necessary preparations that needed to be made. Sebastian glanced back at me, silently asking what I wanted him to do. "Do what you must, it's obviously they aren't being punctual."  
"Of course, young master."  
Lahash suddenly seemed to regret his decision for lingering around for so long as Sebastian lunged at him. The younger demon leapt backwards and perched in a nearby tree, obviously trying to plan some course of action. He continued to dodge several attacks, sticking to the trees for some amount of coverage. Although I had to admit it didn't do him much good, and his evasive tactics were elementary at best. It was a wonder he had managed to evade capture for so long. As he leapt to a different tree once again, the branch that he landed on snapped beneath his weight and fell with a loud crack. Lahash fell to the ground along with the branch, but wasn't lucky enough to land on his feet.  
Sebastian stood next to him as the lesser demon put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. He slowly sat up and picked a leaf out of his hair, obviously done with the whole thing. "Alright, I feel I bought a sufficient amount of time." He wearily eyed Sebastian as he got to his feet, slowly walking in the direction he was heading he stated, "I'm walking away now completely unaware of anything that might enter the immediate vicinity of me for the next five minutes. Who knows what dangers might get through our wonderful defense mechanism?"  
Rolling my eyes, I pressed on and once again Sebastian took me into his arms. He seems so useless, unless you order him to do something and give specific instructions he'll probably put in no effort what so ever.  
Sebastian paused just outside of a small clearing and put me down once again. I gave him a head start as he headed towards the church as planned, then trailed along behind him. Taking a few deep breaths, I found myself wondering just what to expect. It wasn't like this would be the first time I would be walking in on a scene like this, but the thought of possibly seeing Gus lying there dead was a bit nerve wracking. I hate dealing with situations like this when people I know are involved; emotions tend to get in the way of getting anything done.  
Pushing open the front door to reveal the carnage within, I saw the few humans remaining trying to get Lahash to actually do something. He glanced down at the blood stained, body littered floor and shook his head slightly, "If I recall correctly, I don't take orders from any of you because I'm not getting anything out of it. Have fun dying; I hope I don't see you in hell." Ignoring the group of them, I headed towards the table in the center of the room and starting untying Gus from the stone alter he was tied to. At first he seemed a bit confused as to what was going on, but afterwards he didn't seem to grow more coherent, in fact he seemed to grow more delirious with each passing second.  
Although he seemed capable enough to sit up since he slid off the blood stained stone and sat on the floor next to me. "Hey kid, I was wondering when you were going to show up."  
I rose, brushing off his present state and replied, "It's your own fault for-  
He grabbed my hand and pulled me back down next to him, before placing his head in his lap. "How come you get so mad?" He poked my cheek a couple times before I pushed his hand away. My heart started to beat a little faster, but I didn't really pay it any mind or want to. "Geez kid, relax a bit," he started poking my face, "don't you smile?"  
Moving his hand again I sighed, he's like a giant child. "Yes."  
He wrapped his hand around mine and stared at it, seeming to be miles away from what was actually going on. Blood dripped from the many wounds on his arms and torso as he slowly replied, "You should do it more often; I worry about you, you know? It's just like, you try to deal with everything yourself and you shouldn't do that. You're going to get sick or something and then there won't be anybody there for you because you pushed them all away, then you'll be all alone."  
"I don't care; I'd rather be alone then be bogged down by the emotions of everyone that surrounds me."  
"I care about you though." I felt my face grow warmer as he closed his eyes, passing out from blood loss. Slipping my hand out of his, I placed his head on the floor and rose to find Lahash and Sebastian staring each other down while Raziela looked on from behind her demon.  
Lahash's eyes flashed bright blue as I came up behind Sebastian, calmly asking, "What's taking so long, kill her and get this over with, I wish to go home and Gus needs a doctor."  
Sebastian seemed a bit amused with the last part, but didn't bother to comment and simply nodded. Lahash stood in front of Raziela, obviously determined to no go down without a fight, but she was just done. Her eyes were glazed over and she seemed to be in a daze. After witnessing that it was obvious she was broken, and at this point she probably didn't care what happened to her. She pushed her way past Lahash and just stood in front of him for a couple seconds, before fully taking off her hood and stating, "Just get it over with, I'm done here."

Raziela briefly glanced back at Lahash as if she was expecting him to do something stupid, but he held his hands up and stepped back. If I didn't know any better I would have said he seemed proud of the gesture.  
No qualms whatsoever, Sebastian stepped forward. She closed her eyes as Sebastian placed his hands on either side her head, followed by him promptly snapping her neck. Raziela's body fell to the floor with the rest of them while Lahash lurked nearby.  
Turning sharply I headed back towards the door, prompting Sebastian to go get Gus. A panel in the glass ceiling opened and Grell dropped down, promptly beginning the task of collecting souls. He didn't seem very entertained by the many cinematic records, and called out to Sebastian as we left. "Bassie you always leave me with so much work! It's cruel!"  
When we stepped out into the forest once again, Gus stirred slightly, and looked up at Sebastian, "Where'd the kid go, you eat him or something?"  
Sebastian seemed amused with the subject and chuckled slightly, but I didn't let him respond and said, "No I'm right here."  
He looked forward, and down a bit, seeming truly surprised with my sudden appearance. "Hey shorty, I didn't see you down there!"  
"Gus, go back to sleep, you shouldn't over exert yourself."  
"I don't want to though; you're going to leave again."  
Sighing softly, I paused for a long time before deciding that I should just tell him what he wanted to hear. It wasn't like he was going to remember anything anyway...if he didn't die. "No, I'm not going to leave."  
He nodded slightly, staring down at me, "Yes you are, that's all you do. "  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
He laughed for a bit before cheekily replying, "Like you don't already know. You can't outsmart me kid; I've got years on you."  
Rolling my eyes, I was about to come up with some response when I realized he probably didn't even know what he was talking about. I'm arguing with someone who probably barely knows what's going on and is barely conscious. Still the fact that he was teasing me got on my nerves, it was childish and immature. Plus it kind of hurt. "Awww don't pout kid, I'm sorry, don't be mad."  
"I'm not mad."  
"Yes you are."  
"No I'm really not."  
He paused for a long time, and for a second I thought he had fallen unconscious again, but the instant I turned around he started giggling and commented, "It's okay, you don't have to admit it. It makes you cuter anyway."  
I folded my arms over my chest as I felt my face grow warm and promptly stated, "I'm not cute."  
"Yes."  
"No, I'm not."  
Gus nodded with a surprising amount of vigor and slowly retorted, "Yes, because if you aren't cute then you're ugly because that's the opposite." He reached forward and poked my cheek again, smiling stupidly, "Are you mad?"  
"No."  
"Good," he worked his fingers through my hair and added, "If you were I'd have to cheer you up."  
"There's no need for that."  
"Yes there is, I care about you so I want you to be happy." Pulling away from him I didn't respond. For a fleeting moment it actually seemed like he was capable of fulfilling that desire. In the end it would all be pointless, such feelings would only amount to more bad than good. I don't need people caring about me


	10. Chapter 10

Slowly opening one eye as I slowly swam to the surface of consciousness, the sudden brightness of the unfamiliar room I was in surprised me a bit. I blinked several times while my vision cleared and found Ciel sitting in a chair nearby leafing through a book obviously using it as an object to pass the time and not paying much attention to content. Relief subtly washed over his features when I stirred slightly, but he didn't let it show when he commented, "It's about time you woke up; I was starting to wonder if I would need to take you to a hospital."  
The brightly lit room spun slightly after I had sat up too fast and I placed a hand on my throbbing head for several seconds. Once the dizziness subsided, I discovered a new bought of aches and pains covering practically my whole body. When I shifted into a more comfortable position the blanket slid from my torso to reveal the white gauze wrapped around there. It explained why my movements felt a bit restricted, but it was just taking longer than I would have liked for me to recall the events from the prior evening that led up to this. Even then a lot of bits were missing so I probably got drugged or blacked out for most of night. The whole thing was just getting frustrating. At the rate my memory was going with clearing things up for me it might as well have not bothered in the first place.  
It took a couple what felt like hours of just sitting there before I had worked myself up into a silent panic. I had almost died. I mean it wasn't really that uncommon for my life to be in danger, at this point I had just started to consider it a part of my job. The thought of Ciel having been in my place was nerve-racking. He was just a kid, he had practically his entire life ahead of him and he faced death every time he decided to pursue another one of these cult cases and he didn't even seem to care. He could have died yesterday Blinking quickly several times, I found myself trying really hard to not cry. What's wrong with me?  
Ciel tossed his book aside, where it landed on the nearby table with a hollow thud, and firmly ordered, "Calm down. If you get yourself all worked up now you will need a hospital. I refuse to considered responsible for your untimely demise."  
Smiling slightly at the effort he was putting in, I worked my fingers through my knotted dark brown hair in attempts to calm myself. After taking a few deep breaths I weakly replied, "Kid, for a second there I could have sworn you actually cared about what happens to me."  
A light pink blush coated Ciel's cheeks as he quickly looked away, not responding for quite some time. Piling up a bunch of pillows behind me, I propped myself up into a sitting position. With my head resting against the headboard, I studied Ciel. He closed his eyes for several seconds seeming exhausted. I could faintly make out light purple bags under his eyes and found myself wondering if he had stayed up all night.  
He opened his eye once again as I shifted slightly, and I took the opportunity to beckon him over. At first he seemed hesitant to give in to my request, but he shoved himself out of his chair with a sigh and came to stand before me. Playing along he seemed mildly irritated when he asked, "What?"  
I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around Ciel's small frame, wincing slightly as I pulled him against my chest. His face turned bright red and he squirmed around, profusely protesting against the sudden action. After a couple seconds of my stubbornness, he gave in and stopped squirming. I loosened my grip and Ciel shifted so he head rested against my chest, still not saying anything. Smiling slightly, I playfully commented, "You shouldn't stay up all night kid, you won't grow anymore.  
His face darkened in hue before he sharply replied, "It's your fault! Maybe if you didn't go wander off and do stupid things I wouldn't stay up all night worrying about you." He was actually worried about me?  
Ciel quickly averted his gaze when I tried to get a better look at his face and started squirming around again. I only held him closer while he protested against the action, claiming I was taking things the wrong way and he didn't mean what I thought he did. Although he stammered a lot and kept starting the sentence over, implying that he wasn't being very truthful. He grew flustered when I buried my face in his soft hair, and I was overcome with the scent of chocolate. As I closed my eyes Ciel gradually relaxed, and moved into a more comfortable position.  
I could feel his heart fluttering against my own within the confines of his chest and smiled slightly, realizing just how small and fragile he really was. No matter how old he is, he'll always be just like a little kid. Ciel closed his eyes for several seconds, hesitantly wrapping his arms around me. Glancing down at him I could just see the little gears spinning in his head when he opened his eyes. He seemed to be slowly processing the whole situation and blushed for a few seconds, before growing irritated and slipping from my arms. He climbed out of the bed and decidedly stood just out of my reach. He ran his ringers through his slightly disheveled hair and closed his eyes for several seconds. "If that's all you wanted, I shall take my leave now." Ciel paused with his hand on the doorknob, and glanced back with an impish gleam in his dark blue eyes. "Sebastian will be in later to check on you."  
After blinking a couple times, I smirked and replied, "Fine by me, I can't have you missing your nap time, kid."  
Ciel sighed irritably, before opening the door and disappearing out into the hallway. Tossing aside most of the plushy pillows, I lie back down and let out a content sigh. I slowly came to wrap my arms around the pillow and lay on my stomach, finding it a lot more comfortable than my back, although I could shift around too much without aggravating my wounds. Suddenly finding myself exhausted, I closed my eyes, I don't think I'll mind spending a couple days here it might be a bit fun in fact.

Sighing softly, I flopped forwards on my slightly cluttered desk and glanced around my office. It was gradually growing cluttered as well. There were just piles of papers lying around that I didn't feel really needed to be moved at the current time. Frankly, I was too busy trying to concentrate on filling out all the paperwork that had been left for me during the course of my recent absence. At the rate I was going it wouldn't be done until Christmas, but it was just so boring. After the past month it just seemed so mundane and pointless, although I had somehow formulated the same opinion about just being back here. It just seemed like I was being downgraded.  
Everybody just seemed completely unaware of what actually went on in this city and while it was probably for the best, I just felt sorry for them. There was this whole other world that majority of them would never even become aware of not that most of them would want to be aware of the immortal beings and other monsters that lived alongside them. Thinking back, I almost felt sorry for all the kids back at school who I had thought to be a bit mental for believing in all this stuff. Even now I sometimes found myself thinking all of it was illogical. I guess I do think too much.  
Shifting slightly, I winced as I aggravated one of my unhealed cuts. After slowly blinking, I realized just how tired I was. I mean I didn't really sleep a lot yesterday; everything was just too empty since Abaroa went home for the holidays. Even if we didn't talk a whole lot it was nice to know someone was there. I never really noticed it before since I had grown accustom to being alone. Now it was just like there was this sudden emptiness that plagued me.

It was nice when Ciel checked up on me though. He claimed he just wanted to make sure I didn't wander off and get myself kidnapped while Abaroa was gone, but the subtle blush that coated his cheeks with the statement disagreed. With Sebastian gone, I had pulled him into my lap and tweaked every nerve possible. It was obvious Ciel wasn't going to stop acting all high and mighty, so I took it upon myself to be an obnoxious child. At some point during the experience he told me that was what I was acting like. I just ruffled his hair in response and he said if I wanted to make this (whatever that was supposed to mean since I didn't even know what 'this' was supposed to be) a game, he would gladly accept the challenge. I didn't know exactally what I had gotten myself into, but after issuing his challenge he slipped from my arms and sat clean on the other side of the room, refusing to talk about anything that would lead to a profound or even slightly entertaining conversation. If his purpose was to bore me out of my mind, then he had succeeded, but right before he left there was this impish twinkle in his blue eye that suggested the whole thing wasn't over.  
I was too preoccupied with reminiscing about the relationship between Ciel and I to notice the secretary standing in the doorway. I had already forgotten her name, but the fact that she always seemed overly peppy for no apparent reason didn't really inspire me to do so. Next thing I knew she would always be trying to persistently make small talk with me and who knows what else. I didn't really want to get myself mixed up with that I really hope she just wants to ask me where Abaroa is. Even if he hadn't told me I knew they were involved with one another, the kid just needed to admit it.  
"Hi Gus, am I interrupting?"  
Eyeing the stack of papers that sat in front of me still requiring my signature or some sort of write-up and over detailed report I sleepily replied, "Not in even the slightest. What can I help you with?"  
"Abaroa is still staying with you right?"  
I knew it. "Yeah, unless he chose to up and leave, and decided I should keep all his stuff." I received a blank expression as a response and sighed, simplifying my answer. "Yes, only not right now because he went home for the holidays."  
"Oh well can you give him something from me when he gets back?"  
Rolling my eyes, I propped my head up with my hand. Since when did I get stuck playing errand boy for these two? "Sure."  
Holding out my free hand she placed a weighty envelope in it before giggling and adding, "Thank you, it really means a lot. I'll see you around okay?"  
I nodded slightly, and waved her off, stuffing the envelope in my pocket as she did so, so it didn't get lost on my desk. Now let's hope I don't forget it's in there.  
Idly rifling through the thick stack I found myself wondering if I would be able to sneak off without anybody noticing. It wasn't like I was doing anything here besides lounging around. I mean I could take some of the stuff home and pretend I was going to work on it when I really planned on taking a nap. Although the word plan implied that it wasn't set in stone and with my luck I'd wind up with sudden and unwanted guests. I wouldn't really mind if it kept me away from the station. It just felt like I didn't belong there anymore. I might as well just go, I'm not doing anything here and I don't intend to either.  
Shoving away from my desk, I pulled on my trench coat and wandered out into the main bullpen. I casually closed the door back and continued on, happy nobody noticed me; even the secretary seemed to fail to notice me sneaking out. I didn't really mind though, she'd probably ask a ton of questions that I wouldn't want to answer and I'd only wind up feeling guilty about leaving.  
Stepping out into the dreary afternoon, I headed home. Everybody seemed to be bustling around at an unusual pace, but then again it did look like it was going to rain again and nobody really wanted to be caught out in another storm since it was only getting colder. I reminded myself that I needed to do the same today or tomorrow so I had the excuse to show up late. Then again it wasn't really a secret that I had been injured on the job (though it was classified as a stab wound) I could have probably gotten away with not going back for a couple more days.  
It was a bit new to be experiencing this feeling of not wanting to go to work. I had always wanted to be a cop since my parents were killed, but now that I had closure, or as much of it as I was going to get, it seemed pointless. The worst part was I kept telling myself that I wouldn't ever find the person who did this so it was like a personal victory. Now I just felt my career was directionless and pointless. I almost asked myself what they would do if I stopped showing up. I mean I know I'd get fired or whatever, but I wanted to know how long the process would take.  
Shoving open the door to my apartment, I jumped slightly when I found Ciel sitting in the chair he usually sat in sipping tea. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to finally leave."  
Sitting across from him on the couch I asked, "What is that supposed to mean?"  
Ciel flashed me a knowing smirk, something mischievous gleaming in his blue eye and he stared at me over the rim of his cup. "I knew you'd leave. Let me guess, you're bored now that you have a ton of paperwork to fill out and reports to write before you can even think about taking another case?"  
I felt my eyes widen slightly with the accuracy of that statement. I didn't think it would be that obvious though, especially since the kid barely knew me on a personal level, ignoring the background check, and we hadn't seen each other since I went back to the station. It was a bit impressive that he managed to figure it out on his own, and his presence was welcomed so I didn't really mind; especially since Sebastian wasn't around. I just didn't know how I should have responded.  
He took my silence as my answer and smiled slightly, "I thought so."  
"So what, is wanting change really that bad?"  
"No, but when you want to peruse something stupid and dangerous like this it is."  
Smiling slightly, I studied him as he sat there, trying to not make eye contact with me. Eventually a slight flush coated his cheeks and he ran his hand through his shiny hair, "Do I detect an air of concern?"  
His face darkened a couple shades and he still refused to meet my gaze. "No, but until I make my final report to the Queen you are technically still my responsibility."  
Smirking I moved and seated myself in front of him, picking up on the concern that flashed in his eyes when I winced slightly. The way he emphasized 'technically' briefly made me wonder who he was trying to convince that he didn't want to be here. "Funny, because the last time I checked, I was a 25 year old man more than capable of taking care of myself."  
"Not in my eyes, you have been kidnapped an awfully large amount of times for someone who can 'take care of themself'."  
Sitting up I rested my head in his lap, staring up at him, "So what? People go missing every day and people don't go looking for them. You must care if you are continuing to reference it."  
Earning a soft sigh, a couple seconds passed in silence before he reached forward and hesitantly ran his fingers through my hair. I closed my eyes and let him do what he wanted, enjoying the repetitive motion. Some of the few happy memories I had from when I was little came drifting back, leaving me with a warm and fuzzy feeling. When I opened my eyes again Ciel grew frustrated with something and stopped, quickly looking away. Smiling softly, I asked, "What's wrong?"  
He just shook his head and looked away blushing, "Don't think I'm giving in to this, I still have the upper hand."

The realization suddenly hit me as I asked, "So this is the little game between us You are such a little tease, you know that." I planned on making things extremely difficult for him, so when he look back down at me with an impish smirk plastered across his face, I quickly got up on my knees and kissed him. His soft lips melded against mine. When Ciel leaned forward slightly, I pulled away grinning surprised that I actually enjoyed the experience.  
Breathing a bit heavier than normal, Ciel seemed to process everything at a very slow pace, and I half expected him to hit me or something. He didn't though, he just seemed a bit scared, or in shock, and he didn't ever say anything or even move; it was terrifying. Damn, what did I just do "Kid look-  
Ciel cut me off, sounding like he was on the verge of tears, "I don't know what the hell you took this as, but it's not like that!"  
He glared down at me half-heartedly as I tried to coax his onto a different path, one that involved a more in-depth response. "Anger is a secondary emotion." Biting his bottom lip, Ciel closed his eye and I just continued on with this inward panic of having sent him into some downward spiral of complex emotions or something. It was scaring me a bit actually; I mean he was never this quiet. I would almost prefer it if he hit me or yelled some more or something, not sitting there slightly trembling and seeming like he was on the verge of some emotional breakdown that I knew I wouldn't know how to deal with.  
When tears silently rolled down the sides of his face, I leaned forward in attempts to do something. I intended to pull him into my lap when he suddenly looked up at me through his thick, black lashes and flung his arms around my neck, dragging me into another kiss.  
He gradually relaxed as I wrapped my arms around his small frame, gently pressing him against my chest. Our ragged breathing synchronized, while I could feel his heart fluttering against mine. One of Ciel's small hands moved to rest against the side of my face, and he stroked my skin with his thumb. Giving my bottom lip on final nip, Ciel slowly pulled away, resting his forehead against mine with his eye closed. Our breathing gradually returned to normal and I finally asked, "Are you okay kid?"  
An impish smirk worked its way onto his face as he pulled away and settled back into his chair, "Of course, when am I not?"  
There seemed to be this sudden determination sparkling in his blue eye that hadn't been there moments ago, like he had formulated some sort of convoluted plan while we were kissing, "Might I ask what is so amusing?"  
Ciel leaned forward and stared intently into my dark brown eyes for several seconds before knowingly replying, "I have no idea as to what you are talking about."  
Tipping my head slightly to one side I returned the gesture, only partially understanding the process we were about to delve into. I felt like I did on some level know what he was talking about, but at the same time I was completely lost. It was a new experience and I didn't know how I was supposed to react. "Neither do I so how about we mutually not understand anything together?"  
Ciel rested against the back of the chair before cheekily replying, "No. I would rather not. I've spent as much time as I would like not understanding things while in your company."  
Staring blankly back at him, I silently wondered what he was actually trying to do. For the fleeting moment that I felt like he didn't want to be around me and just wanted to spend some time alone. The determined gleam in his eye eventually led me to believe that he wasn't being sincere. Staring down at the dark green carpet, I slowly processed everything. He's treating this like it some sort of game.  
Patting me lightly on the head, Ciel sarcastically asked, "What's wrong?"  
Pouting slightly, I quickly replied, "Nothing kid, and even if there was it wouldn't be any of your business."  
His eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't say anything in retaliation. A silence fell over the room, but we just sat there, and Ciel wrapped strands of my short hair around his fingers. It didn't seem like it needed to be filled though, we were just enjoying each other's company.  
After some pent up curiosity, I asked, "What brings you here anyway?"  
Stopping suddenly, Ciel pulled his hand away and sighed, seeming to not want to bother with the subject. "The queen wishes for you to join me when I'm giving my final report, and don't ask me why because I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine."  
Grinning impishly, I thought to myself, this kid knows me too well. Despite him telling me not to ask, I asked, "Well why do you think she wants me there?"  
Ciel eye me wearily, as if I was about to say or do something stupid, not that I was planning on it. After a few seconds he seemed to grow irritated, forcefully replying, "I don't know."  
Turning to face him, I then asked, "Then why are you getting so mad?"  
Glaring down at me Ciel replied, "Because you irritate me."  
"You irritate me at times too, but I don't complain about it.'  
Sighing softly, Ciel glanced in the opposite direction and replied, "Forget about it."  
"There's nothing to forget."  
"You really don't stop talking do you?"  
Grinning impishly, I replied, "Not when it is convenient for anybody other than myself."  
Ciel flashed me an un-amused glare, once again acting like the adult in the room. Maybe this kid should act more like an adult if he is going to persist on spending time with be. It's obvious most of the time I'm not the responsible one. If I want him to let loose a bit then shouldn't I be the one acting like an adult to work some sort of reverse psychology thing? "That's really quite sad for a man of your age."  
"How old do you think I am!?"  
Messing up his hair, Ciel bluntly replied, "Obviously not old enough to know better."  
"You're right, I don't, oh well there's always next year."  
Sighing softly, Ciel patted my head a couple times in a patronizing manor; it was obvious he was ready for a change of subject. I didn't really have anything else to say though.  
Turning back around, I rested my back against the chair and closed my eyes. Not long after Ciel resumed running his fingers through my hair as if nothing had happened.

~***~ I was struggling to keep my thoughts from wandering away while Ciel talked with the queen. I stared out the nearby window and watched as a few ships slowly drifted out towards sea, embarking on another journey to America. The only thing I had needed to say was a somewhat formal greeting before Ciel, thankfully, took over. My presence had seemed to fade into the background aside from the queen occasionally glancing at me out of the corner of her eye. For some reason it was a bit unnerving, it was like she knew something, but at the same time I didn't really know what there was for her to know. It was like when my parents would just give me that look and I just knew they knew I had done something I wasn't supposed to be doing and there was no point in denying it. After coming to realize that I wasn't sure I wanted to know what these strange, sideways glances were supposed to mean.

To be honest it was even a wonder I was here right now; the meeting had completely slipped my mind between all the procrastination and not sleeping I was doing. If Ciel hadn't come to pick me up this morning I wouldn't even be here right now. It made me temporarily want to pay a bit more attention to went on in my surroundings.  
" It sounds like you had your hands full with this case, my boy."  
A subtle, light pink blush coated as he quickly replied, "Not at all your majesty."  
"Ciel, you are much too modest. In fact, lately I've been thinking a lot, and it would be a shame if something should happen to you while you are one of these assignments."  
Still trying to downplay things Ciel confidently replied, "You worry too much, your majesty." Considering Sebastian always seemed to be hovering over Ciel when he wasn't physically present, he was probably right. I was surprised I had even had the small boy 'entrusted into my care'. I didn't mind, but it could get a bit frustrating at times since I couldn't tell what either one of them were thinking and it was nearly impossible to follow a conversation between the two of them since they just instinctively knew what the other was talking about.  
"Even then, it would be nice to not worry about such things like that. I think it would be a good idea if you and Gus did some more work together. "  
I saw Ciel sharply glance at me silently pleading for me to put a stop to this, but if he was going to treat this whole thing like a little game then I was going to give it right back at him. "It sounds like a wonderful idea, your majesty."  
The queen failed to notice Ciel clenching his jaw when she replied, "Excellent." She shoved a thick envelope to Ciel before adding, "Then here is the next assignment for the both of you. I hope you don't find it too difficult."  
Ciel's voice was obviously strained when he put on a fake smile. If he had been talking to anybody else he probably would have made some complex back-handed comment that nobody would understand until some time had passed and the topic had changed. "I'm sure it won't be; we'll get right one it." I joined Ciel when he slowly rose and took charge of parting phrases. I trailed along behind him and as soon as the door closed back Ciel let out an irritated huff and glared at me. I ruffled his hair and asked him what was wrong, already knowing the answer.  
He stepped out of my reach and ran his fingers through his hair, bluntly replying, "You. I have been doing perfectly fine on my own and all of the sudden I need to babysit you as well. I'm not in any danger and it takes a lot more than bullets to keep Sebastian down.  
Shrugging, I slowly closed the distance between us once again, playfully asking, "What, is there too many people caring about your well-being with in a 24 hour time span?"  
"No, I like doing things on my own, now I have to worry about you."  
Playfully nudging his shoulder I replied, "You don't have to worry about me. It'll get done faster if I help because you look generally suspicious hanging out downtown even when you're not all dressed up."  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
Hesitating, I tried to figure out just what I was trying to say. I didn't really know how to explain it myself, but it was obvious he didn't belong there. "I don't know you just have this noble air about you. It's just pretty easy to tell you don't belong there."  
Staring intently ahead of him Ciel didn't respond and pretended I wasn't there. A small smile worked its way onto my face and I rested me arm on his shoulder as we walked, easily keeping pace with his considerably slow pace. Going against all my expectations, Ciel didn't shrug me off or step away until Sebastian showed.  
Taking up a brisk pace, Ciel quickly switched gears, "I'll take this home for review and report back to you in the morning."  
Stalling, I blinked at his sudden change in demeanor before answering, "Whatever floats your boat kid."  
I tousled Ciel's hair and he gave me an irritated glare, obviously unamused with the gesture. Sebastian studies both of us with a curious gaze, smiling slightly and commenting to himself, "such fascinating creatures." My first reaction was to wonder what he was supposed to mean, but I had to remind myself that he was a demon. If he considered us so fascinating I'd love to see what went on in his realm. I mean I knew the general concept of what people perceived demons to be, but they seemed to be pretty far away from that. It seemed like it would be a bit more exciting than sitting in church. Wait just what does he find amusing?  
I slowly exhaled in response, not really sure I wanted to know. I was probably right too, since Sebastian and I just exchanged knowing glances. Although I don't think either one of us really knew what the other really knew. It was like this silent, mutual agreement of knowing and not knowing. Even if it didn't make sense and I couldn't put it into words, it was entertaining. My mind had wandered since Ciel stopped acknowledging me in a friendly manner, and I found myself wondering how long it would take the demon to take a complete turn for the sadistic when he found out what we had done while he was gone. It was only a matter of time, I mean I wasn't going to tell him, but he wasn't a complete idiot.

~***~ Shifting slightly as Ciel continued on with his seemingly hour-long explanation of the case we had been assigned yesterday. I had stopped paying attention about five minutes ago. I got the general gist of everything though. Basically someone was trafficking humans and we needed to stop them. It wouldn't be that hard to do, we just needed to check ship records and port documents. It's take a couple days at most, and wasn't much of a challenge. I had done it a couple other times, so once you knew what you were looking for it didn't take much to spot fake records. You also checked supply records and other expenses of any recently ported ships.  
I found my eyes slowly drooping closed as Ciel continued droning on. Geez, what is he even talking about, " are you even listening?"  
Shaking my head, I sleepily replied, "Nope."  
Letting out a slightly irritated huff, Ciel asked, "Why?" Opening my eyes and blinking slowly, I explained what he needed to do and for a second he seemed fairly impressed with my level of competence. He severely underestimates my skills. "Fine, Sebastian, you know what to do."  
Sebastian bowed and replied, "Of course young master," before leaving Ciel in my care once again. A silence settled across the almost empty room, and Ciel glanced over at me a few times, seeming a bit bored. I didn't really blame him though; I mean he was dealing with something as simple as this. Although some people wouldn't know what where to begin with such cases. Some of them even wasted time trying to track down the people who had been sold into slavery and interrogating them when half the time they didn't speak a word of English and weren't stupid enough to sell out whoever had dragged them here in the first place.  
"So kid, did you do anything fun yesterday?"  
Eyeing me wearily, Ciel replied, "Are you really trying to engage in small talk?"  
Shrugging slightly, I countered, "There's nothing else to say."  
Studying Ciel while he didn't respond, I took note of him shifting slightly. He worked his fingers through his soft hair and averted his gaze, a slight smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.  
Rising from where I was lounging, I settled myself on the floor in front of him, earning a pat on the head. Placing my head in his lap I closed my eyes and replied, "Once we get the list it shouldn't take more than a couple of days to track down the ship and its captain."

I didn't earn a response, although Ciel seemed to have been contemplating something while he absent-mindedly stroked my hair. I didn't really dwell on the thought, it would just be pointless and asking him what he was thinking about would get me any sort of response. If he really wanted to say something he would just do it. At least I assumed he would. Ciel was a very blunt person so he didn't seem like the type to hold back when something was bothering him, and if he was, there weren't any obvious physical signs that would suggest otherwise.  
Picking my head up slightly when he suddenly stopped, I asked, "What's up kid?"  
Ciel slightly shook his head, averting his gaze, "Nothing. " Slowly rising from the floor, I leaned forward and quickly kissed him before wandering into the kitchen with promises of tea.  
I could tell Ciel was pouting as I put water in the kettle, when he replied, "You might as well not bother, if you going to just force it upon me. I know I'm not going to drink it."  
Smiling to myself, I asked in response, "What's wrong kid, did you miss your afternoon nap?"  
Throwing a quick glance into to living room I found Ciel blushing with his arms over his chest. "I'll have you know, I don't take naps, I'm not a child."  
"In my eyes you'll always be a kid."  
Ciel let out an irritated huff, giving me a list of reasons why he wasn't, but I didn't really hear most of them. It was nice to know how persistent he was, but nothing he said right now would change my opinion. Ciel would refuse to accept that and just come up with more reasons, so I was just going to let him think he was going to get his way.

Cold night air nipped at my hands while I quickly stuffed them into my pockets while I roamed down the barren streets with Ciel at my side. After an afternoon dedicated to poring over shipping longs, with the occasional distraction from Ciel's general feisty and somewhat manipulative demeanor he had taken on for the time frame, we had finally managed to find what ship was most likely to be trafficking humans.  
We trailed along behind Sebastian, since Ciel had sent him ahead to do damage control, not really talking. I made sure he was walking slightly in front of me since he seemed a little lethargic and burnt out. I would have suggested I do it by myself, but with his persistence it wouldn't accomplish anything. In fact he probably would have just gone off and done it by himself without me just to spite me. He's going to make himself sick iif he keeps it up like this.  
"Will you stop?"  
Glancing down at him I asked, "What do you mean?"  
Ciel sighed met my gaze, seeming annoyed, "Stop hovering over me, it's unnecessary and irksome."  
"Telling me that you don't want me caring about you isn't going to change anything because I will continue to worry."  
"Nobody asked you to worry about me so don't, I'm fine and if I wasn't it none of your business."  
Shrugging, I bluntly replied, "I know, just like you pretend you don't worry about me. How long do you really think this cat and mouse game of yours is going to last?"  
Smirking, Ciel lowered his gaze and continued to look ahead, "I have no idea, what are you insinuating?"  
"You can only keep this up for so long kid, I know how people work, eventually the floodgates of your inner thoughts will burst forth and before you know it this game will be nothing more than a childish fantasy."  
Laughing quietly to himself, Ciel simple said, "Children are quite good when it comes to games, where do you think the term 'child's play' came from?" He set a brisk pace and stayed several feet in front of me, not glancing back. Shaking my head slightly, I thought to myself, and he refuses to let himself be called a child.  
The brightly lit cargo ship loomed before us as we made our way down the dock, although it was a lot less lively than it normally would be from what I have seen on recently ported ships. There wasn't anybody scrambling around to make sure everything was unloaded and things were running smoothly. Then again, there wasn't much to unload that wouldn't require discreetness.  
Following Ciel up the gangplank, I glanced around the empty upper deck, before following him down below; shivering slightly at the eerie feeling I was getting from the whole thing.  
Ciel barely glanced around at his bloodstained surroundings before abruptly sending me off on my own. "Go down below and assess the damage. I'm going with Sebastian to find the captain."  
I didn't really have a chance to object even if I wanted too since they disappeared into a different part of the ship. It was probably for the best though; I didn't really want to know what Ciel did behind metaphorical closed doors.  
Once alone by myself, I managed to find menace in almost every little thing that surrounded me. The general atmosphere of the whole creaky ship was just unsteady and ever shifting. I could hear the wooden sides groan in protests as waves from the harbor slammed into them. There was also water dripping somewhere in the darkness and the vessel itself was subtly rocking back and forth. Gingerly picking my way across the bloodstained floor, I resolved that it was better than worrying about Ciel. Sebastian was with him so it wasn't like he was in any immediate danger; I just still wasn't too keen on the idea of him having to get involved in all of this.  
He already seemed to be miles away in his own little world and generally not caring about anything, but stuff like this wasn't going to change that. At least I didn't think it would but even then I wasn't the best person to make life choices. I just wanted to see him happy for once, was that really too much to ask?  
Stopping in front of a large metal door, I nervously glanced around at my dark surroundings. There wasn't much to see other than several barrels and a bale of hay, but it still felt like something was lurking in the shadows. Taking a deep breath to calm my shaky nerves and racing heart, I timidly reached forward and rested my hand on the metal bar that kept the door shut. What's wrong with me? I've never been this jumpy on a case before.  
The weathered and tarnished metal screamed in protest as I forced it from its dented placeholder. A soft thud echoed around the moonlit room as the door made solid contact with the wall and chains rattled somewhere in-front of me.  
Cautiously venturing forward, I waited for my eyes to adjust to the lack of light, before crouching in front of the sixteen year old girl before me. She flinched as I examined the lock that bound her to the wall, obviously scared of something. Keeping my voice soft, I made general small talk, even if she couldn't understand what I was saying and didn't respond, while I took off my coat and handed it to her. The girl gratefully accepted it while I fiddled with the lock, which I was having a difficult time springing.  
While I continued fiddling, I noticed a much smaller girl peer over the other girls shoulder. The lock finally gave way and the older girl coaxed the younger one into her lap while I undid her chain as well. She draped the coat around the smaller girl and took her into her arms when her chain was open as well. Once we were out in the bright light, I noted their similar appearance and figured they were sisters.

In the bright hallway, I tried to look for any signs of Ciel or Sebastian, but it sounded like they were still preoccupied with whatever it was they were doing. After some convincing, I managed to convince the other girl to let me carry her sister since she could barely stand herself. We paused briefly while she tucked her arms into the long sleeves before pressing on at a relatively slow pace so they didn't overexert themselves.  
Pausing just before heading to the second deck, I slowly asked, "Is there anybody else here?"  
The girl stared at me blankly for a couple seconds, before shaking her head and replying in broken English, "just us."  
Nodding curtly, I slowly led the way topside. The older girl would occasionally glance back to make sure her sister was there and would take her outstretched hand for a couple seconds, or whisper something in their native t***. Ciel's guess at what language would be a lot better than my own since I had taken French practically all of college and half the time I barely recognized it when it was being spoke.  
I heard Ciel before I saw him, but he sounded irritable and generally fed up with this whole thing. While I ascended the stairs to the top deck he inquired, "Did you find anything?"  
The girl in my arms clung tighter to my shirt, and he sister his behind me as I came to stand in front of Ciel and Sebastian, "I found two anythings for you."  
He sighed softly after studying the small girls, but didn't say anything in objection. When Sebastian materialized behind his master the pair seemed near hysterics and the older girl crossed herself several times, saying something in whatever language she was speaking. On the other hand, Sebastian seemed amused with the display and chuckled softly, "as if such theatrics would actually work."  
Ciel glared at Sebastian and demanded, "Go bring the carriage around; we're taking them home with us."  
Bowing slightly, Sebastian turned and disappeared into the darkness, leaving Ciel and I with the girls. The older one standing behind me wearily eyed Ciel, but didn't say anything. At the very least she seemed grateful for him getting rid of Sebastian. "Do they speak English?"  
"Not much."  
Shaking his head slightly, Ciel turned and headed down the gangplank, leaving me to follow with the hesitant girls. Smiling slightly, I gently took the other girls hand and coaxed her along. She didn't really have much of a choice though since her sister was half asleep in my arms.  
Once safely in the carriage, the smaller girl perked up slightly, and climbed into her sisters lap. Both of them seemed extremely hesitant to hesitant to respond to any of Sebastian's questions, which cycled through various languages, and they kept glancing at Ciel to make sure he was still there.  
Eventually the older girl whispered something to her sister and Sebastian's keen ears picked up on it, so he continued to question them in their native t***. It surprised me a bit that he was fluent in whatever he was speaking, but at the same time I had to remember that I didn't really know how old he was or how many different parts of the world he had been to before. In reality, it shouldn't have been surprising, but I just kept forgetting that he wasn't human. Looks really can be deceiving.  
The outside landscape gradually morphed into a more scenic and wooded one; when the older girl finally started to slowly respond to Sebastian's questions. After a particularly long silence Ciel prompted, "Well?"  
"Kamila and Al beta," each girl nodded in turn, before Sebastian continued. "They were orphaned a few months ago and like so many of their predecessors, were lured here with false pretenses of exciting opportunities in a new land."  
Ciel slightly shook his head but didn't say anything, still seeming agitated. Despite wanting to, I knew better than to ask him is something was bothering him now. He'd probably just ignore me even after we had been left to our own devices. However, it was still a shot in the dark to assume he'd say something or even respond if I questioned him about it. Sometimes he was just too stubborn for his own good.  
As we drew closer to the manor the girls seemed mystified with the sprawling, over-sized house. Their eyes winded slightly as we pulled around the gravel drive, and they intently studied their new surroundings. Before the carriage even came to a stop Ciel ordered Sebastian, "Feed them something and put them up in a room, I'll figure out what to do with them in the morning." Sebastian nodded then Ciel added, "And don't do anything else to traumatize them, we don't need them rambling about demons when we get rid of them."  
Sebastian smiled, watching his master climb out of the carriage and promptly replying, "of course, young master."  
Once we were all standing in the foyer, Sebastian relayed the plan for the evening in their language, and Kamila glanced nervously towards Ciel from her place in her sister's arms, and he bluntly stated, "He won't do anything rash unless you give him reason to."  
She nodded slightly, resting her head on her sister's shoulder as they followed Sebastian; leaving me to slowly trail along behind Ciel. He led the way down various hallways; some of them seeming slightly familiar, while others seemed to be completely new, until he settled in the parlor in front of a blazing hearth.  
Shifting slightly in my place across from Ciel, I watched him struggle with undoing the button on his black coat for several minutes. He would have been more successful with the task if he had actually been paying attention to what he was doing instead of wandering off in his own little world; regardless of that he seemed to be slowly growing more and more frustrated with the task.  
Moving in front of him, Ciel didn't object as I took over the task for him, but once I had finished he firmly stated, "I was more than capable of doing that myself."  
Not wanting to get him riled up more than he already was, I tried not to sound as amused as I actually was when I replied, "I know, I just wanted to do it for you."  
He rolled his eyes before rising, and wandering off into the adjacent room, taking his coat off as he went. Once the doo had closed back, I slowly rose from my perch on the floor and wandered back to my chair.  
In a feeble attempt to distract myself from Ciel's new irritable demeanor, I watched the flames dance back and forth. The charred wood the delicate tendrils were perched upon would occasionally crackle, and sent up a cloud of sparks. The constant back and forth motion of the flames, left in in a mystified trance, and I was completely entranced in the strange dance until Ciel's movement in my peripheral vision distracted me. Although he didn't pay me any mind as he settle back into his chair, he just stared off into outer space, once again living in his own little fantasy world.  
Sighing softly, I settled into the soft, velvety fabric on the chair, I found myself studying him from afar. His dark blue hair was bathed in a slightly orange glow from the fire light, and drifted to cover most of his face when he propped his head on his arm. His shoulders were slightly hunched and is he didn't have his legs partially tucked under him someone else could easily fit next to him if the wanted to. I was just reminded of how small and fragile he seemed to be despite his age, and how tough he acted at times. Right now it seemed like he was a porcelain doll, and the slightest touch or gentlest nudge would shatter him. And yet, I longed to venture over there and occupy the empty space next to him; to pull him into my lap and feel the heat from his body melding with my own while I ran my fingers through his silken hair. Maybe then I could once again evoke some sort of emotions response other than those expressed in this seemingly redundant cycle of apathy and mild irritation.  
He abruptly glanced over and his blue eye narrowed slightly when he asked, "What are you doing?"

Letting out a small huff, Ciel broke away from my steady gaze and stated, "Well stop, it's annoying."  
"What's wrong kid? Am I not allowed to enjoy this 'game' of yours a little?" I paused, aiming to get a response, but in turn got nothing, so I pressed the subject. "Or is it that you just have no idea what's going on and you aren't fully prepared to accept that so you pretend you're angry. As I mentioned before, rage is a secondary emotion."  
The slight outline of his jaw became more prominent when he looked away, purposely avoiding eye contact.  
Against my better judgment, I rose from my spot and came to crouch in front of him. He refused to look at me as I took his much smaller hands in my own and kissed them, "it's okay to be afraid."  
He pulled away and shifted so his legs dangled over the adjacent armrest, "keep telling yourself that, because it's just weakness. Your constant patronization and seemingly insistent need to try to emotionally support me what I don't want or need is just a nuisance."  
Resting my forehead against the soft cushion I closed my eyes and softly replied, "I don't care."  
"You should, because you are wasting your time."  
Taking a deep breath, I found myself completely frustrated, and just wanted to give up, while at the same time, I just wanted to get him to care about something. Was wanting to see him happy just once really too much to ask? I didn't feel like I was wasting my time, even right now when he barely wanted to talk to me. "I don't care, and I don't feel like I am. I love you, and I don't expect you to care, but that doesn't me I don't have to."  
Ciel paused for a long time, and the silence was filled with the crackling of the fire, but just as I though he wasn't going to respond Ciel stated, "You're an idiot."  
"Good, I'm a happy idiot."  
Hours seemed to pass before Ciel slowly came to rest his hand on top of my head, and he pet my hair. "You are such a stubborn child."  
Smiling slightly, I replied, "I know, but one of has to be the child and it's obvious you aren't going to do it." When I peered up at him, he rested his hand against my cheek, slightly pinching the skin there.  
His light blue eye bore into my brown ones when I sat on my knees and took his hand in my own. After earning no objection, I pressed my lips against the palm of his hand, earning a lazy and somewhat content smile from him. Returning the gesture, I closed my eyes when he moved his hand to the side of my face, gently holding it there with my own hand.  
Ciel leaned forward and rewarded this evening persistence with a quick kiss, before he slid out of his chair and made slow strides towards his room. "I'm going to bed, do as you please."  
A small smile worked its way onto my face as I rose from the floor, "goodnight kid."  
The door closing back was the only response I received.

Ciel visibly tensed in next to me when we entered the Queen's chamber room. I myself could see why though since she had summoned her entire court for us. Whatever prickly mood Ciel had been in intensified tenfold in that instance. I wanted to discreetly grab his hand just to give him a reason to be irritated, but I decided against it. As much as he didn't want to accept the new arrangement that was being forced upon him, I actually preferred it. As much as neither one of us wanted to admit it to one another, I was going to worry about him once I was sent back to the Yard and he would worry about me, even if it was just the occasional 'I wonder what Gus is up to'. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I didn't even want to go back. Doing this just felt a lot easier; there were a lot less restrictions and paperwork to fill out. This whole process was just simpler and more direct. The fact that I got to spend all this time with Ciel was just an added bonus.  
After bowing, I let Ciel take the reins on things. It was a nice system we had worked out and I like it this way because I didn't have to struggle to come up with responses to questions I didn't know the answer to. Plus I got too nervous for my own good, it was just better if Ciel was in charge of dealing with people; I observe, not interact.  
"Your majesty it is a pleasure to be here today."  
A smile appeared on her wrinkled face and excitement sparkled in her green eyes, "I'm happy to see you too my boy, you're looking quite well."  
Returning the gesture Ciel replied, "As do you, your majesty."  
The queen shifted her attention to where I floated in the background, and asked, "Has he been giving you any trouble; Ciel can be quite stubborn at times."  
Ciel shot me an irritated glare when I ruffled his hair and I cheerfully replied, "not at all, he's just been a perfect ray of sunshine."  
"That's nice to hear, I worry about him sometimes."  
Smiling, we exchanged knowing glances and I reassured her, "there's no need too, he's been as safe as he could be of late."  
Ciel glanced up at me, a somewhat sadistic smile plastered across his face and I could just hear him asking 'I wonder why that is' just to irritate me. Although I guess it was better I was the one getting kidnapped all the time, since it kept Ciel out of danger and I liked knowing he worried when I was gone.  
"Good, it puts my mind at ease to know I'm enlisting a capable new recruit."  
Ciel seemed to cringe slightly at the warning, although he took a lot of pride in serving the Queen, so her wording it so casually must have put him off. It was understandable, and I gently nudged him in attempts to slightly lift his spirits.  
I smiled down at him when he glanced up, but he just glared and looked unamused and very unimpressed with the gesture. I shrugged slightly, and redirected my attention to what was going on; albeit it wasn't really needed since the queen wasn't addressing us.  
Ciel nudged my hand with his own, briefly squeezing my fingers before sadly staring ahead of him. I knew there were some personal reasons why Ciel didn't want me doing this, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to. After everything, I really didn't just want to go back to going through the motions and pretending like all of this hadn't happened. I knew things practically nobody else knew, and certainly nobody else in the force either. I didn't want to. No matter how much he seemed annoyed by my presence, or claimed he didn't want to be around me and didn't care what happened, I knew he didn't mean any of it most of the time. And even when he did mean it, it didn't seem to matter. I'd almost die countless times as long as it meant he was safe.  
"Gus, please step forward."  
After I closed my eyes briefly, I took a deep breath and stepped forward. Some guy in white whipped out a thin sword and stood before me, studying me with mild disinterest. It was obvious he didn't want to be here, or at the very least be doing this. For once I could say I didn't have the slightest desire to completely bail out on this social occasion. "Kneel."  
I obliged, staring down at the shiny floor. The content of the draw out address that followed evaded me, blocked out by the pounding of my heart in my own ears. The sudden excitement that bubbled through me caught me off guard, and I found myself struggling to stay still much like a small child would. " make you one of my guard dogs."  
Slowly rising, I dipped my head slightly, not really able to do anything more than smile and take deep breaths.  
Members of the court started gossiping almost instantly as I returned to Ciel's side, but he was already leafing through a folder someone had given him as everybody straggled out of the room and wandered off down the hall; something about a celebration.  
The last person to leave was the queen, and she congratulated me, until I was left with Ciel and Sebastian. Playfully stooping Ciel height, I asked, "What's that?"  
"What does it look like?"  
Decidedly taking the question literally, I replied, "Paper."  
Ciel sighed and elbowed me, before stepping away, "very good, you are capable of identifying common household objects." When I rested my arm on his shoulder, he stepped away and flung the folder into my chest, striding out of the room with Sebastian following closely behind. Quickly catching up Ciel bluntly stated, "We have a grave robber on our hands."  
"What a death defying stunt."  
He sighed loudly, and ran his fingers through his hair as I walked along his other side, "I have enough idiots to deal with at home; I don't need another one."  
"What? It wasn't that bad."  
Discreetly grabbing my hand, he smirked up at me, replying, "Dead men tell no tales."  
Returning the gesture, I squeezed his hand and replied, "Apparently these ones do."  
Sebastian looked back and for between the two of us several times, seeming amused before saying, "such fascinating creatures."


End file.
